Chip-ergarten
by LoaTurtle00
Summary: The Chipmunks start Kindgarten and meet some mysterious new friends, the Chipettes. Some similarities may overlap with "The Squeakquel", only they are in Kindergarten. Warning: some chapters contain some harsher adult(-ish) themes, even though age-wise they are 5 (Chapter Ratings also provided).
1. First Day Of Kindergarten

**Chip-ergarten**

 **About This Story:** The Chipmunks start Kindgarten and meet some mysterious new friends, the Chipettes. Some similarities may overlap with "The Squeakquel", only they are in Kindergarten. Warning: some chapters contain some harsher adult(-ish) themes, even though age-wise they are 5. I don't own any part of the Chipmunk franchise, just borrowing them from Nickelodeon, Janice Karman,  & Ross Bagdasarian, their family, & their company.

 **About This Chapter:** Rated G-PG, this chapter is just an intro, setting the stage without anything very remarkable happening. The boy chipmunks and girl chipmunks see each other for the first time, but don't officially meet yet.

 **Pairings:** Alvin/Brittany, Simon/Jeanette, Theodore/Eleanor

* * *

 **1\. First Day Of Kindergarten**

Miss Garcia gave a warm and friendly smile to welcome her fifteen students for their first day of Kindergarten.

Simon liked her already, and was excited to learn. He was even happy to get started with the first warm-up assignment of drawing a picture including himself as well as his family. He was currently sitting at a plastic picnic table on the front row with his brother Alvin sitting to his left, closer to the front of the classroom. His other brother Theodore was across from them. Their classmates sat at some long tables that were too high for him to reach as a humanoid chipmunk, which was why he shared a small table with his younger brothers.

The three of them were all wearing denim jean shorts, tennis shoes, and socks in their signature colors. They were also wearing polo shirts in their signature colors, with their first initials embroidered on their shirt pockets in golden thread. There were two buttons plunging a few inches below the collar on each boy's shirt. Simon had both of his buttoned, Theodore just had his bottom one buttoned, and Alvin left both of his unbuttoned.

After Ms Garcia spoke with some other adults at the door - perhaps one was a staff member of the school, and the other was a parent - but the kids didn't care, she placed a second plastic picnic table on the front row, right next to the boys' table. "Sorry, I don't want to interrupt anyone right now, just keep drawing." She apologized as she placed the second table right behind Simon and Alvin.

In a few moments, Ms Garcia got the class's attention. "Class, I have an announcement to make. Please clap your hands twice if you can hear me." Once the class complied, she continued. "We have a last-minute change to the class roster, so now we have three new students joining us." She looked towards the door, "Welcome, girls!"

Through the doorway walked - it couldn't be, thought the Chipmunk brothers especially - three _girl_ humanoid chipmunks. They couldn't help but stare in amazement, since they didn't know there were other humanoid chipmunks out there. The boys had thought they were the only three of their kind in existence.

The three girl chipmunks were wearing plaid jumpers with peasant-top short-sleeved blouses in a paler shade than the dominant color on their jumper, with hair-bows and socks to match. They also had on neckties to match their jumpers, and saddle shoes. The girl in the middle had her golden-and-strawberry-blonde hair in a ponytail. Her outfit was mostly pink in color, and the expression on her face seemed to say she was not afraid of anything. She held the hands of the other two girls - her sisters? - and seemed to lead them inside. The girl holding her right hand looked smaller, and had her platinum-blonde hair in pigtails. Her outfit was mostly a minty-green color, and she shyly kept her right thumb in her mouth. Holding the left hand of the girl in pink was a taller girl with darker brown hair pulled into a cutely disheveled and lopsided bun. This one wore mostly purple on her outfit, and had magenta glasses frames. She wasn't even looking up at the class most of the time, and when she did happen to look at them she quickly looked away as if she were afraid of them.

Ms Garcia continued, "Class, these are the Chipette sisters. This is Brittany..." She pointed to the fearless girl in pink, "...Jeanette..." She pointed to the shy girl in purple, "...and Eleanor." She pointed to the one wearing pigtails and minty-green. "Let's all say 'hi' and make them feel welcome."

"Hi!" The class greeted them in unison.

The girls all smiled a little more at this, but the girl in pink continued as though she were the designated speaker of the trio, "Thank you!"

"And you girls can sit right here..." Ms Garcia showed them the other plastic picnic table. She helped them get situated so that Jeanette's back was to Simon's back, Brittany's back was to Alvin's back, and Eleanor was sitting across from them. She and Theodore were facing each other, but they still couldn't see each other over their older siblings. But there was still another gap of about ten feet between the tables. It was Ms Garcia's strategy to ensure they paid better attention in class.

Ms Garcia made her "rounds" walking around the room and checking on the students while they worked, after she explained the assignment to the Chipettes. As she walked by the Chipmunk table, she asked, "So, boys, are these new girls some of your long-lost sisters or cousins?"

Simon spoke up once the three brothers shook their heads, "Sorry, we've never seen them before in our lives. I don't know if we're related to them or not."

"OK, thank you, Simon." Ms Garcia kept walking around. Once she came to the table with the girl chipmunks, she asked, "So, girls, did any of you know the boy chipmunks at the other table? Or do you know if you're cousins to them?"

The girls looked at each other and shook their heads. Brittany shrugged, "We've heard of them as a singing group, since we also sing together, but I don't think we're related to them."

Jeanette muttered, "We've only lived in California for a year. Before that, I think we grew up in North Carolina, but I'm not sure. So I don't think we're related to them, either."

Brittany gently nudged her sister to be quiet, but apologized to their teacher. "Sorry, Jeanette dreams and daydreams so much we're not always sure if her memories are of real life or if she just imagined them."

"But I'd still like to play with them." Eleanor smiled.

Brittany shot her a brief glare, but told Ms Garcia, "Our manager is actually uncomfortable with us hanging around people or meeting people - including other kids - he doesn't know. Some 'professional' reasons or something, I'm not sure why."

"Hmm..." Ms Garcia thought for a moment. "Well, you don't have to play with them, but while you are in my class, I still expect all of my students to be kind and respectful to everyone else in this class. Understand?" She stated firmly but kindly.

"Yes, Ms Garcia." The three of them agreed.

Once the teacher moved on to check on other students, Brittany whispered to her sisters, "I thought we agreed I would do the talking. There is just some information about us that Uncle Ian says we are only to tell on a need-to-know basis, and he said that teachers and other adults do not need to know. And he also said we are not to talk to or play with the Chipmunks. He wants us in the same class only so we can keep tabs on them or spy on them. He says 'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.' Remember, they are our enemies, and they are not to be trusted."

"OK..." Her sisters both agreed.

Jeanette asked them, "But the Chipmunks seem harmless enough, and Ms Garcia said we are to be 'kind and respectful' to them. She seems nice. I wanna be able to make her happy by being nice to everyone, but I also wanna keep Ian happy so we don't get locked in the 'Punishment Cage'... By the way, can you tell if the Chipmunks are looking over here at us, Ellie?"

Eleanor glanced through the space between her older sisters. "Not right now, the bigger two have their backs turned, keeping busy drawing their own pictures. I can't see the little one right now, but he seemed friendly and I think he was even smiling at me when we came into the room. What's his name, again? Leopold? Theodore?" She giggled. "He's kinda cute!"

"We'll just have to keep our distance from them." Brittany reminded them. "But something tells me it's gonna be harder than we first thought..."

Meanwhile at the Chipmunks' table, Simon whispered to his brothers, "Guys, I didn't know there were other talking humanoid chipmunks like us in existence. If we ever met more, I especially didn't think they would be our age, or that they would be female."

"They seem nice." Theodore stated without looking up from his work. "I hope we get to meet them and play with them later."

"Dibs on that one in pink!" Alvin giggled. "She's cute!"

"Alvin!" Simon shushed him. "We don't even know them yet! I just think it's odd that we thought _we_ were the only humanoid chipmunks, but now we learn there are three others? And they are females _our_ age, and they joined our very same class at the last minute? Something just seems suspicious about this whole thing. I don't know... Theodore, can you tell what they are doing right now?"

Theodore peeked through the space between his two older brothers. "They seem to be minding their own business. At least the two taller ones are, but I can't see the little one in the pigtails right now. She seemed sweet and friendly..."

Ms Garcia interrupted the Chipmunks' and Chipettes' mutual daydreams to tell the class to stand up, and she led the class in saying the Pledge of Allegiance. When they sat back down in their seats, she introduced the next lesson. It wasn't long before the bell rang for lunch. The students all formed a single-file line with their lunch boxes in hand at the door.

* * *

 **A/N:** I didn't want to take too much from "The Squeakquel", especially the "sacred" scene by the lockers, and the interactions that followed. Sure, there is a mutual attraction (if you can call it that), but they are 5 in this story. Of course, being rockstars who get around, I would think they might still be a bit precocious for 5-year-olds. Eleanor confusing Theodore's name is a nod to the Nickelodeon cartoon episode "Carts And Crafts", where Ms Croner does the same thing.


	2. First Lunch

**Chip-ergarten**

 **About This Story:** The Chipmunks start Kindgarten and meet some mysterious new friends, the Chipettes. Some similarities may overlap with "The Squeakquel", only they are in Kindergarten. Warning: some chapters contain some harsher adult(-ish) themes, even though age-wise they are 5. I don't own any part of the Chipmunk franchise, just borrowing them from Nickelodeon, Janice Karman,  & Ross Bagdasarian, their family, & their company.

 **About This Chapter:** Rated PG, due to mention of starving (or force-dieting) a child.

 **Pairings:** Theodore/Eleanor

* * *

 **2\. First Lunch**

Theodore was eating quietly in the school cafeteria and savoring his lunch just across the lunch table from his bigger brothers. He didn't mind being practically ignored for now - it only left him to enjoy his lunch in peace - but he enjoyed watching their antics. It was his biggest source of entertainment at the moment. Alvin was trying to convince Simon to toss grapes into the air so that Alvin could catch them in his mouth. Simon just wanted to eat his lunch in peace, telling Alvin "If you wanna play with your food, leave me out of it."

The brothers were sharing another kiddie-picnic table in the lunch room about three feet away from the other kiddie-picnic table where the girl chipmunks sat. Simon had told Theodore that they were sitting right behind him. Simon had a better view of them, but Theo could hear them better. The girls seemed to keep to themselves, otherwise the boys wouldn't mind meeting them. But at the moment, neither group was in a hurry to break the ice.

"Hey, my lunchbox is completely empty!" Theodore heard one of the girls exclaim when she returned from the restroom. "Do either of you know how I'm supposed to eat?"

"Brittany and I just had a few carrot sticks and crackers, and we've almost eaten them all." Theo heard another voice say. "It's OK, Ellie, we can try to get something together... I mean, maybe we can have a snack after school."

"I can't wait that long!" The first voice cried. "I'm hungry right now." She even started to cry.

The second voice said, "Uh, if you'll excuse us a moment... Brittany, could you please show me where the bathroom is?"

"Yeah, sure." A third voice replied.

"Guys, when you come back, please bring me something, I'm _really_ hungry." The first voice continued to sob.

"We'll see what we can do." The second voice said as she disappeared.

As soon as Theodore could tell that just one girl was left at the table, crying because her lunchbox was empty and she was going to go hungry, he instantly took pity. He glanced across the table to see if Simon or Alvin had heard the girl's plight. He hoped to consult with them first, but they were still arguing about tossing grapes into Alvin's mouth, oblivious to the situation. Theo sighed as he glanced at his half-eaten peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He pursed his lips and a determined expression crossed his little face. Was the poor girl gonna go hungry? Not on his watch!

* * *

Once in the girls' bathroom, Jeanette pulled Brittany aside.

"Sorry, Jeanette, Ian didn't give me any extra money or much of a lunch, either. I don't know what we can do for Eleanor besides tell a teacher or ask other kids for any extra leftovers or something." Brittany shrugged when she knew that she and her sister were alone.

"Brittany, please don't tell a teacher." Jeanette begged. "But I know why Ellie's lunchbox is empty. Ian wants Eleanor to go on a diet. I don't know how to tell her. I love her the way she is, and would never want to force her on a diet, especially a starvation crash-diet - that is just not healthy. Uncle Ian told me that if I told a teacher or any other adult, that he would lock me in the Punishment Cage for the night. At least you aren't a teacher... But I wanted to tell you, so maybe we can figure out a way to tell her."

"I don't wanna hurt Ellie's feelings, either." Brittany sighed. "But I don't want her to starve. I guess so you don't get in trouble, and so Ellie won't go hungry, we should go ask some of the other kids in our class if they have any leftovers they could share. Otherwise we are gonna have to hear her whine about how hungry she is for the rest of the day. And you know how she gets crabby and cranky when she's hungry - she's no longer her sweet and sunshiny self. So I'm ready to beg the other kids for leftover scraps for my little sister. How does that sound?"

"Sure." Jeanette nodded. "Me too, anything for one of my sisters."

"Good, then let's go..." Brittany took Jeanette's hand and left the bathroom.

* * *

Eleanor sniffled with her head resting on her folded arms when her sisters left for the restroom. She could now taste her own salty tears. Right now, they were delicious, but not satisfying. How could her bigger sisters leave her for a bathroom break at a time like this? She had gone _before_ eating lunch, and when she came back to the table with her sisters, her lunchbox was empty. They had already eaten theirs, otherwise she could just forage through their lunchboxes. She guessed she could take a nap instead...

She suddenly felt a gentle tap on her shoulder. She sat up and turned around with her tear-stained face to see the little boy chipmunk in the green shirt standing next to her table. "Uh, hi!" He began. "Uh, if you like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, would you like the rest of mine?"

Wow, he was as generous and friendly as he looked when she first saw him upon walking into the classroom! And he was even more adorable this up-close and in person! Eleanor had only seen generic pictures of him on various Jett Records' albums and posters. She had also heard recordings of his voice as he sang "Christmas Don't Be Late" and "Witch Doctor" along with his brothers. But here he was actually talking to her - and offering her the rest of his sandwich! "Oh-Oh-OK, thank you!" Eleanor blinked as she accepted the sandwich. She motioned to the empty part of the kiddie-table bench next to her. "Wanna sit down?"

"OK." He shrugged as he sat next to her. "I can't believe your daddy or mommy would just forget to pack you a lunch."

"Me neither." She said around a few bites of food. "Oh this sandwich is delicious! You'll have to give me the recipe sometime."

"Really?" He looked surprised. "I think my daddy made it, but he's let me help make these before. He takes two slices of bread, then spreads peanut butter on one slice, then spreads jelly on the other slice, and then puts the two slices together." He used the upturned palms of his hands to demonstrate.

"So you like to cook sometimes?" Eleanor asked him. "I wish I could cook..."

"Yeah!" Theo nodded. "I like cooking! Sometimes it's as much fun as eating, especially if you eat a few bites while cooking." He giggled. "By the way, I'm Theodore. What's your name, again?" He offered his hand.

"Eleanor." She smiled and shook his hand. She also noticed how his eyes reminded her of little round brownie-bites.

He smiled. "Eleanor...that's a pretty name. It suits you!" He noticed at this point how her eyes reminded him of little green gumdrops, it was a very pretty aqua-green color unlike any he had ever seen.

Eleanor giggled. "Thanks, Theodore. You know, you're kinda cute, too."

"Really?" Theodore blushed but giggled. "Thanks, Eleanor!"

"Ellie, there's something we need to tell you..." Jeanette stopped when she saw one of the boy chipmunks at their table next to her little sister.

Brittany looked surprised. "Oh... What is _he_ doing here?"

"He let me have the rest of his sandwich, so I let him sit down." Eleanor explained to her sisters. "Guys, this is my new friend, Theodore. And Theodore, these are my big sisters, Jeanette and Brittany."

"Hi, Theodore!" Jeanette sat down across from them at the table. "Thank you so much for sharing with our little sister. I was gonna just ask any of our classmates for leftovers, since Brittany and I finished ours. And any friend of Eleanor's is also a friend of mine."

"Sure, Jeanette!" Theodore smiled. "It's nice to meet you. And you, too, Brittany!"

"Hey." Brittany nodded a quick greeting to him. She hesitantly sat down next to Jeanette. She cautiously glanced around, ensuring no one was watching them.

She seemed a little more cold and distant than her sisters, as though she were embarrassed to be seen in company with Theodore. Theo just shrugged, thinking she just may not be comfortable around boys yet. The bell rang for recess and interrupted his thoughts.

"Hey, Theodore, would you like to play with us on the playground?" Eleanor asked.

"Sure!" Theodore's eyes perked up. "I'd love to!"

* * *

 **A/N:** Obviously, when Theodore compared Eleanor's eyes to "green gumdrops", it's a nod to "The Squeakquel". When Ellie compared Theo's eyes to round brownie-bites, that is from a family inside joke where we all know of my mom (Terri) as an extreme "choco-holic" (chocolate fanatic!). One day, my sister(-in-law) asked my dad, "How did you ever land a girl like Terri? Isn't she out of your league?" My dad chuckled  & thought for a moment before he answered, "Well, at one time early in our relationship, she did tell me that my dark brown eyes looked like little brownies." That cracked us up! And my mom laughed when we told her. (In the Nickelodeon cartoon, Theodore has brown eyes and Eleanor has aqua-green eyes. Their eye color was reversed in the 80s cartoon.) Alvin catching grapes in his mouth was done in "The Squeakquel", as well as Nick cartoon episodes like "To Serve And Protect", & mentioned in "The Sub".


	3. First Recess

**Chip-ergarten**

 **About This Story:** The Chipmunks start Kindgarten and meet some mysterious new friends, the Chipettes. Some similarities may overlap with "The Squeakquel", only they are in Kindergarten. Warning: some chapters contain some harsher adult(-ish) themes, even though age-wise they are 5. I don't own any part of the Chipmunk franchise, just borrowing them from Nickelodeon, Janice Karman,  & Ross Bagdasarian, their family, & their company.

 **About This Chapter:** Rated PG, for mention of "panties".

 **Pairings:** Alvin/Brittany, Simon/Jeanette, Theodore/Eleanor

* * *

 **3\. First Recess**

"Wanna try the swings?" Eleanor asked her new friend Theodore once they reached the playground for recess.

"Uh, sure." Theodore shrugged. "But I may need help getting into them."

"I can give you guys a boost, and maybe give you a push-start." Jeanette offered. The littler chipmunks agreed and ran over to the swing set with her. She intertwined her fingers into a "finger-basket" to give them a stepping stool so they could get into the swings. "Brittany, are you coming?" She asked her other sister.

"No thanks." Brittany shook her head. "I think I'll join some of the other girls in our class in that other corner, with the hopscotch and the jumping ropes. I'll see ya later!"

As Brittany made her way over to the corner with some other girls in her class, she passed Alvin and Simon playing catch with a small playground ball. Alvin acknowledged her. "Wanna play with us?"

Brittany shook her head and looked rather smugly at them. "No thanks. I'm going to play 'Ballerina Princess' with some other girls."

"OK." Alvin shrugged as he threw the ball back to Simon.

Brittany didn't mean to be rude, but she just had no interest in playing with boys - chipmunk or human - at the moment. Instead, she joined some other girls in their class and started doing a dance with them where she would spin around really fast, pretending she was a ballerina princess in a fluffy skirt that looked like flower petals as the hemline came up and out with the centripetal force of her spin. She was having fun doing this for a few minutes.

Simon soon joined Theodore, Jeanette, and Eleanor at the swing set. "I give up playing ball with Alvin. Some bigger boys just joined our game, and I was tired of trying to keep up with them. Alvin enjoys rough play like that, but it's not for me. Mind if I hang out with you guys for a while?"

"Not at all!" Theodore smiled. "I never understood why you have to play rough to have fun. It's not for me, either. By the way, Simon, these are my new friends Eleanor and Jeanette." He pointed to each girl as he mentioned them by name.

"Hi." Simon smiled. He noticed that Jeanette was pushing both little chipmunks in the swings, and that she was just tall enough to reach them. "Would you like some help pushing them?"

"Sure, that would be great!" Jeanette welcomed him into the mix. They alternated pushing Eleanor and Theodore, and in a few minutes, they were swinging high enough that they could pump their legs enough to swing on their own.

Simon glanced over to Jeanette. "Well, now that they have adequate momentum to propel themselves, would you be interested in joining me on the 'fulcrum and lever apparatus'?"

"Sure!" Jeanette smiled. "I'd love to play on the seesaw with you!"

"So glad I don't have to explain that to you!" Simon laughed as they got on the seesaw together.

* * *

Alvin walked over to retrieve a runaway ball that went near the corner of the playground where Brittany was still spinning around. He looked up at her curiously and asked her, "Aren't you getting dizzy? 'Cause I'm getting dizzy just watching you."

"Kinda." Brittany shrugged when she stood still enough. "But it's all part of the game I'm playing."

"Really? What kind of a game?" Alvin was intrigued.

"It's called 'Ballerina Princess'." Brittany explained. "I pretend I'm a ballerina in a fluffy dress, and the skirt spreads out and makes me look like a pink flower when I spin around really fast."

"Oh..." Alvin nodded. It wasn't really his type of game, but he kinda liked something about this girl chipmunk in the pink dress. "So, are you winning the game when you look like a flower? Or when you see a flower?"

"Yep!" She said matter-of-factly as she spun around to demonstrate. "And I'm always winning."

Alvin chuckled as he watched her. "Then I'm winning this game, too! Every time you spin around, I see pink flowers on your panties. They're nice!"

She stopped twirling around to glare at him, while smoothing her skirt down.

"Well, see ya 'round!" Alvin picked up the playground ball and skipped away to rejoin the bigger boys. He didn't even notice that he had angered her. He even thought he was just paying her an innocent compliment. As short as he was compared to human girls his age, an accidental view up a skirt didn't phase him as much. He was still a curious five-year-old boy, but had learned to just accept some things as-is about the mysterious world of the opposite sex.

Brittany, however, was still just incensed. "Ohhh..." She groaned as she watched him skip away. She still wasn't sure what to think of him. He seemed OK at the first part of the conversation, but to think he was looking at her underwear the whole time! Maybe Ian was right about him. But at this point it was still difficult to tell.

* * *

 **A/N:** Kids and the games they make up! And on YouTube, on the channel "The Munkcast", which is where the six chipmunks answer fanmail and talk about Chipmunks-related news, in one of the questions in maybe season 7 or 8, Alvin gets asked the question "What can you say to Brittany to make her laugh, no matter how mad at you she is?" His answer to that was "I just say one word - 'panties'!" (Even though it was a movie incarnation of the Chipmunks that goes commando). Brittany started laughing hysterically at this in the video clip. On a personal note, I grew up in West Texas, and I was about eleven years old before I learned there was a "t" in "panties". All my life up to that point I just heard "pan-nies" (what it still sounds like in a Texas accent!).


	4. After School

**Chip-ergarten**

 **About This Story:** The Chipmunks start Kindgarten and meet some mysterious new friends, the Chipettes. Some similarities may overlap with "The Squeakquel", only they are in Kindergarten. Warning: some chapters contain some harsher adult(-ish) themes, even though age-wise they are 5. I don't own any part of the Chipmunk franchise, just borrowing them from Nickelodeon, Janice Karman,  & Ross Bagdasarian, their family, & their company.

 **About This Chapter:** Rated PG, for more references to forced starvation dieting of a child, and some mild verbal abuse.

 **Pairings:** Alvin/Brittany, Simon/Jeanette, Theodore/Eleanor

* * *

 **4\. After School**

"Eighth and Liberty!" The bus driver announced as he parked at the bus stop.

"That's us!" Simon stood up and got the attention of his brothers. He turned to the seat across the aisle, where the Chipettes were sitting. "See you tomorrow, Jeanette! I had a great time with you today!"

"Bye, Simon!" Jeanette smiled and waved. "It was a pleasure meeting you!"

"Bye, Eleanor, see ya tomorrow!" Theodore waved.

"Bye, Theodore!" Eleanor waved. "Thanks for sharing your lunch with me!"

The boy chipmunks exited the bus waving to their new gal-pals. The three brothers started walking down the street together.

"I had so much fun with Eleanor today!" Theodore said to Simon. "I hope we can play together tomorrow."

"Me too!" Simon smiled at him. "Jeanette is so intelligent and so sweet. She can tell some fascinating stories, too, since she also likes to read. And her memory and imagination are very hi-def. I look forward to seeing her tomorrow." He turned towards Alvin. "So, Alvin, did you get to play with any of the girl chipmunks?"

Alvin shrugged. "Well, at recess I got to talk to the one with the golden strawberry-blonde hair in the pink dress. I just talked to her a little, while I was getting a stray ball for my new friends, those bigger boys, Derek, Ryan, and Xander. But that was it. I didn't even learn that girl's name.

"It's Brittany." Simon and Theodore answered him in unison.

Alvin's jaw dropped. "H-h-how do you guys know that?"

"We spent time talking to her sisters for most of recess." Theo shrugged.

"And Ms Garcia introduced them in class when they first walked in the door." Simon chuckled. "Or were you even paying attention at that time?"

Alvin rolled his eyes. "I may have just been too busy recovering from the shock of seeing three girl chipmunks."

"Did you know the girls also sing and dance?" Theodore asked. "They've been doing concerts this past year as 'The Chipettes'. That's so cool!"

"That's awesome that they sing, too!" Alvin smiled. "That Brittany girl sure likes to dance. She seemed like a real diva, she was kinda cute, and really pretty..."

"If you want, Alvin, I can introduce you tomorrow." Theodore offered.

"Yeah, Teddy-Boy, like I need a wingman!" Alvin laughed sarcastically as Theodore rolled his eyes.

Simon paused for a moment. "Uh, guys, before we get home, maybe we shouldn't tell Dave about the girl chipmunks for now."

"What? Why not?" Alvin and Theodore looked at him in surprise.

Simon clarified, "It's just that many of the things that Jeanette told me today, she asked me not to tell any teachers, parents, authority figures, or other adults - that she is sworn to secrecy on so many things. She remained mysterious and shy about many things, as if she would get in trouble for telling too much information about herself or her family life. I just think maybe we should respect their privacy for now, until we get to know them better."

"But, we tell Dave everything..." Theodore looked disappointed.

"Do we really, Theo?" Alvin eyed him. "Maybe _you_ do, but if I told him everything, I would never be un-grounded."

Simon shrugged. "I'll tell you guys some of the stuff she told me to keep secret, and we can compare notes about them later. For now, it's OK to tell Dave that we made some new _friends_ , and it's also OK to tell him that some of our friends are _girls_ , but for now don't mention that our new friends are _chipmunks_ , especially don't mention they are _girl chipmunks_. At least not until we get to know them better. Does that make sense?"

"Yes." Alvin and Theodore agreed.

It wasn't long before the Seville brothers entered their house, where their father warmly greeted them. "Fellas! How did you like your first day of school?"

"Dave!" They ran to give him a hug.

"I had fun playing ball with some big boys at recess!" Alvin answered excitedly. "It would've been even more fun if they could keep up with me!"

Dave laughed as he rubbed the back of Alvin's head. "Well, you'll make and keep more friends if you go easy on them - at least for the first few days. I'm not gonna be able to buy you more friends if you break the ones you have."

Theodore tugged at the jeans on Dave's knee-level to get his attention. "I shared my lunch with a new friend, and later we played on the swings together."

"That's very generous of you, Theodore!" Dave smiled at his youngest son, rubbing the back of his little head affectionately. "Remind me to pack extra in your lunch for tomorrow, in case you want to share more with your friends."

"OK, Dave! Thanks!" Theodore smiled with wide eyes.

"What about you, Simon?" Dave turned to his most down-to-earth son.

"It was a productive learning experience." Simon smiled while adjusting his glasses. "I learned there are other people out there who can play intense sports with Alvin, so I don't have to. And I found other people who also like to read the bigger books that don't necessarily come with pictures. At first I may have thought Kindergarten wouldn't be intellectually challenging enough for me, but I can appreciate the social aspect of it more, and I definitely enjoy the company of my classmates and my brothers."

"I'm glad to hear you found a place and feel like you belong, Simon." Dave affectionately rubbed the back of Simon's head. "I was worried you would feel bored. But I really need you there to look after your brothers more than anything."

Simon laughed. "Oh, sure! It would be easy to be my brothers' keeper, if both of them were like Theodore. Theo is a joy! That's a given. But if I'm gonna continue being my brother's keeper to Alvin - that's a full-time job, and I'm gonna need a raise in my allowance."

"Hey!" Alvin glared at Simon.

Dave laughed at his boys' antics. "Well, you fellas can go up and play in your room while I get dinner ready. Maybe we can talk later about that, Simon. I might be able to think of some ways to sweeten the deal and throw in some added benefits or something. We can talk more after dinner if you'd like."

"Sure, thanks, Dave! That would be great!" Simon smiled as he headed upstairs with his brothers.

Alvin rolled his eyes. "I can't believe you get _paid_ to babysit us. I mean, we're practically the same age! Except I'm the most mature - "

Theodore interrupted in a whispered tone, "Enough about that, Alvin. Uh, Simon, how did we do? You know, did we tell Dave too much information about our new friends?"

Simon smiled at him, giving his brothers two thumbs-up. "Nope, you guys did great!"

"Yessss!" Alvin and Theodore celebrated in a whisper.

Simon nudged Alvin. "And, I was just messing with you and giving you a hard time back there. Think of it more as me getting your back and keeping you out of trouble, rather than like babysitting you. You're right that you don't need a babysitter. What you really need is a bodyguard!"

"Oh..." Alvin chuckled. "I guess I can live with that."

* * *

"Last stop!" The bus driver called as he opened the doors of the school bus, allowing the Chipettes and a few other kids to exit. The kids all scattered, so the sisters were left to walk home together.

As Brittany took Jeanette's left hand in her right hand, and Eleanor's right hand in her left hand, she smiled to both of them. "Don't worry, guys, I won't tell Ian or Giorgio that you guys made friends with the boy chipmunks today. I'll keep that as a 'Sister Secrecy Pact'."

Eleanor and Jeanette heaved a synchronized sigh of relief. "Thanks, Britt!"

"So, what were they like?" Brittany asked curiously.

"Theodore is very sweet, and he's very generous!" Eleanor giggled. "I really don't see what Ian doesn't like about him. I like hanging out with him."

Jeanette sighed. "Simon was such a gentleman. He's so smart, and I found it intellectually stimulating to talk with him. He's nothing like Ian says. I think he's very trustworthy. I felt bad that so many questions he asked me I was sworn to keep secret, so I just gave him some general answers, but nothing specific about us."

Eleanor smiled up at her sister. "So, Brittany, what did you think of Alvin? Or did you get to play with him?"

Brittany rolled her eyes. "I guess Alvin must be the bad apple of the bunch. At first he seemed harmless enough, but the little perverted jerk was looking up my skirt. He seems as much the self-absorbed brat that Ian said he was. Besides, he likes to play rough and get dirty, but I don't like doing boy stuff like that. So I doubt I'll be playing with him much during the year. I may spend more time with my new friends like Amber, Nessa, and Annie."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Jeanette squeezed Brittany's hand. "But will you consider giving Simon and Theodore a chance? At least for our sakes?"

"Anything for you two!" Brittany laughed as the others sandwich-hugged her. "Sisters before misters!" She sighed in front of the doorway to a complex of loft apartments. "Well, here we are."

None of the Chipettes had a key to get into the building, but someone opened the door for them from inside. "There's my favorite little group of schoolgirls!"

"Giorgio!" The three of them ran into his arms.

Ian's personal assistant, Giorgio Parnetti, scooped them all up at once into a group hug, showering them with kisses. "So, girls, tell me everything about Kindergarten. Was it fabulous?" He began carrying them past the lobby and to the elevator. He set down Eleanor and Jeanette, letting them walk around, but continued to cradle Brittany.

"Yes, we like school!" Brittany nodded. "We made some new friends with the other girls in our class."

"Good!" Giorgio nuzzled Brittany. "I'm glad you didn't make friends with any boys, since we don't want any gentlemen callers knocking at the door for our little princesses. And the boy chipmunks are competition. You'll catch their cooties if you get too close to them."

Brittany laughed, "Oh, they were too full of themselves anyway to even notice our existence!"

"Even more good news!" Giorgio tickled Brittany under her chin. Soon they got off the elevator and reached the door of their apartment, which was actually a model apartment that Ian was illegally subletting unbeknownst to the girls. "But Uncle Ian is waiting to rehearse with you inside."

Ian was seated in front of a red grand piano, playing a few scales. He stopped when he noticed Giorgio walking in with the Chipettes. "Girls! Are you ready to rehearse, so we can kick those stuck-up boy chipmunks in their little tushies?"

"OK, Uncle Ian!" The girls played along. Giorgio set Brittany gently atop the piano, as her sisters joined her on foot.

"Excuse me, Uncle Ian," Eleanor raised her hand.

"This better be important..." Ian mumbled before he asked, "What is it, Little One?"

Eleanor continued, "I noticed when I opened my lunchbox today, that it was empty. Did you forget to pack a lunch for me?"

Ian winced nervously before explaining, "Oh... I didn't _forget_ to pack a lunch for you, I just didn't _feel_ like packing a lunch for you. You're bigger around the middle than you are tall, anyway, and I don't want you to get too chubby to fit into your dress for the upcoming concert. So, I decided to put you on a strict diet. Until the concert, you will eat only what I give you, and when I give it to you. Until then, slim down, Chubby!" He ended with a smile - despite the fact that Eleanor wanted to cry - and he started playing a few starting keys on the piano.

Jeanette stepped between her baby sister and the busy music manager, "Uncle Ian, I'd like to point out that crash diets are unhealthy and ineffective in the long term, and besides that, I like and love Eleanor the way she is. Physical beauty is temporary, but it's what's inside that counts."

Ian rolled his eyes and angrily glared at Jeanette. He did a whinier imitation of her. " _It's what's inside that counts..._ " In his regular voice, he yelled, "Nobody asked your opinion, Geek Girl! That is just like all of your ideas, pure bull - " he caught himself for his younger audience " - doo-doo." He heaved a frustrated sigh.

At that moment, Brittany stood in front of both of her sisters and glared at Ian. "Uncle Ian, I agree with Jeanette on this. The clothes should be made to fit Eleanor, not the other way around." She was unflinching in her stare-down, letting Ian know she was boss.

Ian finally caved under her glare. He sighed again. "OK...you know what? We'll talk about this later. Right now, we need to rehearse. We have a concert for the half-time show of a football game in three weekends. And we want to crush those Chipmunks!"

* * *

 **A/N:** Alvin's friend Derek is from the 2015 Nickelodeon cartoon series (aka - "Derek The Bully"), while Ryan and Xander are from "The Squeakquel". I also figured Simon would be more intellectually precocious for a Kindergartner. Brittany's friends, Amber, Nessa, and Annie are from the Nick cartoon series. Ian Hawke is from the live-action movies,  & Giorgio Parnetti is an OC.


	5. Who's Your Daddy?

**Chip-ergarten**

 **About This Story:** The Chipmunks start Kindgarten and meet some mysterious new friends, the Chipettes. Some similarities may overlap with "The Squeakquel", only they are in Kindergarten. Warning: some chapters contain some harsher adult(-ish) themes, even though age-wise they are 5. I don't own any part of the Chipmunk franchise, just borrowing them from Nickelodeon, Janice Karman,  & Ross Bagdasarian, their family, & their company.

 **About This Chapter:** Rated PG-13, for some conversations hinting at pedophiliac activity, both same-sex and opposite-sex.

 **Pairings:** Alvin/Brittany, Simon/Jeanette, Theodore/Eleanor

* * *

 **5\. Who's Your Daddy?**

"This is so much fun, having lunch with you girl chipmunks!" Alvin smiled across the small kiddie table at lunch the next day as they sat down. "It's almost like a triple-date, except that your sister Tiffany stood me up."

"Brittany." The other four corrected him in unison.

Alvin groaned. "Ugh! I'll get it right one of these days..." He closed his eyes and mumbled more to himself, "Brittany! Brittany! Brittany!... Maybe if I say her name _right_ enough times, she will magically appear." He turned toward Jeanette and Eleanor. "So, is _Brittany_ just shy or is she playing hard-to-get? 'Cause I don't think she wants to hang out with me - or any of us Chipmunks."

The sisters glanced at each other and laughed when they looked back at Alvin.

"Who, Brittany? Shy?" Eleanor giggled. "Sorry if she prefers to keep her distance from you for now."

Jeanette nodded in agreement. "Yeah, maybe she can be snobby from time to time, like when she prefers to eat with some other girls than with us. But she isn't always like this. She's a wonderful sister. I think she was just mad at you from yesterday when she said you looked up her skirt."

Theodore and Simon both glared at Alvin, who was sitting between them. Alvin shrugged defensively. "I never looked up her skirt! I _do_ have boundaries, especially when I just barely meet people. I would never look up a girl's skirt on purpose, at least not before the third or fifth date. I may have only seen her panties yesterday because she was spinning around really fast and her skirt was coming up."

"Oh..." Jeanette shook her head. "She can sometimes be a drama queen, and exaggerate stuff. But she's...very dedicated to her stage life, even while we aren't performing. She keeps her distance from other performers for professional reasons, thinking you guys are competition. But Ellie and I enjoy hanging out with you guys."

"Yeah!" Eleanor agreed. She opened her lunchbox and sighed. "Well, it's empty again today."

Theodore perked up. "That's OK, 'cause my daddy packed extra lunch for me so I could share. Wanna share again?"

"You bet!" Eleanor smiled. "Thanks, Theodore!"

Simon stood up. "You know, Eleanor, since this is the second day that your lunchbox has been empty, I really think we should tell a teacher about this."

"No, please don't tell, Simon!" Jeanette begged. "I promised our manager I wouldn't tell any teachers or other adults. If you tell, we'll only get in trouble at home."

Alvin stood up and placed a hand on Jeanette's shoulder as she tried to stop Simon. "Jeanette, you may have promised _you_ wouldn't tell, but Simon never promised anything. I know my older brother, and he does what he believes is right."

Jeanette sighed and sat back down next to Eleanor. She knew Alvin was onto something, but she still couldn't look him in the eye.

Alvin sat down in his spot across from Jeanette and continued, "I mean, if Simon doesn't tell anyone, Eleanor may come to school for the rest of the year with an empty lunchbox. Now, Theodore will always be happy to share his lunch with her, but what about the days when Theo doesn't make it to school? How is your sister gonna eat?"

Before Jeanette could answer him, Ms Garcia came up to their table, followed by Simon, and stood near Eleanor. "Eleanor, Simon tells me that this is the second day you have brought an empty lunchbox to school. Is this true?"

Eleanor froze. "Well, yeah...my manager just must've forgotten to pack a lunch for me, or gotten distracted after packing lunches for my sisters. But it's no big deal." She was actually fighting tears while telling her teacher. She perked up a little as she explained, "But Theodore has been sharing his lunch with me, so I'm OK."

Ms Garcia thought for a moment. "Thank you, Theodore. Before you go home, Eleanor, I'm going to send a reminder note to your dad, so that he'll remember from now on to pack a lunch for you. If he ever forgets to pack your lunch again, come tell me, OK?"

"OK." Eleanor nodded as she tried to put on a brave face.

As Ms Garcia walked away, Simon returned to his seat across from Jeanette. "I'm sorry, Jeanette, I just don't want your sister to continue to go hungry."

Jeanette smiled. "It's OK, Simon. Thanks for doing it for Ellie's sake. If my manager asks, I'll just tell him that another student noticed and told a teacher, and not me. Maybe I won't get in trouble..."

After swallowing a bite of his food, Theodore asked, "So, why do you call him your 'manager' instead of your 'dad'?"

Eleanor and Jeanette glanced at each other, before Eleanor answered, "Because he's not our dad, he wants us to call him our manager, or sometimes our uncle, even though he's not really our uncle, either."

"He kind of adopted us, but not officially, we just live with him, and he manages us as a singing group." Jeanette shrugged. To throw the focus off of the girls' home life, she asked the boys, "But tell us about your 'manager', or did you guys say you have a 'dad'?"

"He's our manager when we perform, but offstage he's our dad." Simon explained.

Alvin chuckled. "We call him Dave, and we like to play with him, since he's a fun dad...except when I get in trouble. But he's still the coolest and nicest dad ever!"

"He loves all three of us to the same degree! And he gives great hugs!" Theodore smiled. "And we all love him!" He looked back at the girls. "What's your dad - er, your _manager_ like? At home, do you call him 'manager'?"

Jeanette shrugged. "We love him, since we've never known any other manager. I've honestly never heard him say the word 'love' to describe how he feels about us. I sometimes get the impression that he only likes Brittany."

Eleanor chimed in, "Yep, Brittany is clearly his favorite!"

Jeanette continued, "Well, I hope I don't get in trouble for saying any of this, but at home we call our manager 'Uncle Ian'."

"Oooh..." The boys all seemed to wince at hearing this. Simon asked, "Ian Hawke?" When the girls nodded, Simon continued, "Ian used to lock me in the 'Punishment Cage' without my glasses just because I would question his judgment about something, and he wanted to 'put me in my place'."

"He does that to me!" Jeanette gasped.

Theodore rolled his eyes. "He used to lock me in the Punishment Cage without feeding me supper. But he would make me watch him, Alvin, and Simon eat, and torture me with the smell of the food. He told me it was some new diet that he was trying on me to slim me down." He glanced downward. "Obviously, it didn't work, but I think he just wanted to torture me. What a meanie!"

Eleanor's mouth dropped open. "That's what he's doing to me, too! And that's why he sends me to school with an empty lunchbox!"

Jeanette added, "And, no offense, but he still bad-mouths all three of you guys at home. I think he still nurses a huge grudge against you. It's sickening to hear that his main motivation to get us to rehearse is so we can 'destroy' our competition - such as you guys. But I would much rather hang out with you."

Alvin wondered, "What about that gay guy who used to work for Ian - Giorgio? He usually played 'nanny' to us. And I totally loved him. Is he still there?"

Jeanette and Eleanor looked at each other and laughed, before Jeanette explained, "Giorgio still works for Ian, and he may be a bit on the 'fruity' side, but he is definitely not gay."

Eleanor added, "He's much nicer to us than Ian is, but we can still sense that Brittany is his favorite."

Jeanette finished, "He's _very_ affectionate with Brittany, sometimes showing a little _too_ much of the wrong kind of affection for her. I'll admit that it makes me uncomfortable to watch sometimes, but as Brittany's big sister, I just feel responsible for her and want to make sure she isn't getting hurt."

Simon spoke up, "Giorgio was that way with Alvin, too! That's why we thought he was gay for a while. But I'm now beginning to think he's a bisexual pedophile. Although, he was still nicer to Theodore and myself than Ian was. He was a relief from Ian, but there was still something disconcerting about him."

"It only makes me more grateful for Dave!" Theodore added.

Simon nodded in heartfelt agreement. "Absolutely! I hoped that maybe Ian - and Giorgio - changed for the better since the eight months we lived with them, from the time we were about two-and-three-quarters until we were three-and-a-half. But I still don't feel good about how they show inappropriate affection and favoritism to Brittany, or about how they force Eleanor to crash-diet. I'm glad you told us about this, but my hope is that you'll be careful." He rested his hand on Jeanette's folded hands. "Now that we've met and befriended you girls, I don't want to lose any of you."

Jeanette smiled at him. "Thanks, Simon."

Theodore happened to notice that Alvin looked saddened, possibly from hearing the truth about his friend Giorgio. He placed a comforting hand on Alvin's back. Alvin smiled at him briefly. As a way of changing the subject and getting Alvin's mind out of the gutter, Theodore asked the girls, "So, when is your next concert? I'd like to go see it. I haven't even heard you girls sing together, but I already consider myself a big fan of The Chipettes."

"Yeah, me too!" Alvin perked up.

Eleanor squealed. "So sweet of you! You can probably look up and watch our past concerts online by now, since we've been performing throughout this past summer, and for about six months before that. Our next concert is in three weeks. We're performing at the half-time of a local football game."

"So are we!" Alvin grinned. "Well, we're actually performing during the opening ceremony of that same game, so we'll be there!"

"Yay!" Eleanor giggled. "We'll get to see you guys perform, too! I'm sure it's more fun live than it is watching it on a screen. I mean, we're huge fans of you guys, and I was hoping that we could meet you and hang out with you, ever since before we started working for Ian. So this is a dream come true!"

"It would be even more awesome if we could all perform together!" Alvin smiled.

Eleanor looked a little disappointed. "Ian would never agree to that." She perked up. "But I agree that would be awesome!" She high-fived Alvin across the table.

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm going by the age-order of the chipmunks by the numbers of their jerseys in the Nickelodeon cartoon episode "Mutiny", since that's the best explanation I could come up with as to why Alvin was #4  & not #1 (1. Simon, 2. Jeanette, 3. Brittany, 4. Alvin, 5. Theodore, 6. Eleanor). I'm aware there is debate that Alvin is the oldest brother, & Brittany is the oldest sister, & the 1980s cartoon seems to have that age-order. "The Alvin Show" of the 1960s had Alvin as the youngest, so he's been all over the place as far as age-order goes. Eleanor as a fan of The Chipmunks, wanting to hang out with them rather than destroy them, and considering it an honor to perform with The Chipmunks, all of that is from "The Squeakquel". Giorgio's activities are also pushing the rating of this story, but I like exploring the childhood ethical conflict of when to keep a secret versus when _not_ to keep a secret.


	6. A Near Hit

**Chip-ergarten**

 **About This Story:** The Chipmunks start Kindgarten and meet some mysterious new friends, the Chipettes. Some similarities may overlap with "The Squeakquel", only they are in Kindergarten. Warning: some chapters contain some harsher adult(-ish) themes, even though age-wise they are 5. I don't own any part of the Chipmunk franchise, just borrowing them from Nickelodeon, Janice Karman,  & Ross Bagdasarian, their family, & their company.

 **About This Chapter:** Rated PG, for mild action and depiction of mild injury, also mention of female undergarments.

 **Pairings:** Alvin/Brittany, Simon/Jeanette, Theodore/Eleanor

* * *

 **6\. A Near Hit**

Although Alvin enjoyed hanging out with Jeanette and Eleanor at lunch that day, during recess he returned to playing ball with the bigger boys. He saw that Theo and Ellie were headed for the swings, and Simon and Jeanette were doing the seesaw again.

He caught a brief glimpse of the other Chipette sister, _Brittany_ , as she was off playing in the same hopscotch corner as yesterday with some of the other girls in their class. Those girls were off minding their own business.

Alvin and his partner Ryan were winning at whatever ball game they were playing, if there were really a score to keep. Derek and Xander were throwing the ball to them. At one point, Derek was throwing the ball pretty hard. Alvin was originally going to ignore it, since it was headed out of bounds. But at the last second, he looked up and saw that Brittany was walking in the line of fire, oblivious to the danger, probably on her way to get a drink or go to the restroom. Alvin hated to see anything happen to Brittany, even though he barely knew her. He still thought she was pretty, and he was instantly friends with her sisters earlier at lunch.

"Look out!" Alvin called out as he dove in front of Brittany as a last-ditch effort, pushing her out of the way, but tumbling into her in the attempt. He shook his head to regain his senses, then glanced at the girl chipmunk under him. "Are you OK, Brittany?" He scrambled off of her to help dust her off.

Brittany remained lying on her left side, but she blinked in shock as she looked at him. "Uh...thank you for the save." She nearly heaved as she tried to regain her breath. "And I don't think we've been officially introduced, so how did you know my name?"

"Me and my brothers sat with your sisters at lunch today." He smiled. "I'm Alvin, by the way. Sorry about knocking you over, but I was afraid it would hurt you more if I let that ball hit you - Derek has been throwing pretty hard today." He tried helping her to her feet.

"That's OK." Brittany winced in pain once she was pulled to her feet. She glanced at her left elbow and left knee, and saw that both were bruised, scraped, and bleeding. "Oww..." She moaned.

"Are you alright, Brittany?" Ms Garcia asked as she came up to check on the fallen chipmunk children. Upon inspecting her scrapes, the teacher concluded, "I think you might need to see the school nurse to get that cleaned off and bandaged." She turned to Alvin. "What about you, Alvin? Your knee is scraped up too."

"What?" Alvin glanced down at his knees. Sure enough, his right one was scraped up and bruised as much as Brittany's left knee. "I didn't even notice that! I was so caught up in making sure Brittany was OK. I'm sorry about knocking her over, I just didn't want the ball to hit her and probably hurt her more."

"Yes, I saw you trying to save her, Alvin." Ms Garcia smiled. "That was very brave of you. Would you like to walk with her to the school nurse? You could get your own knee cleaned off and bandaged while you're there."

Alvin nodded as Ms Garcia took his right hand and Brittany's left hand, leading them back inside the cafeteria. She opened the door for them and pointed across the large atrium. "It's that room over there, on the other side of the kitchen area, almost where the gym is. Do you think you can make it from here OK?"

"I think so." Brittany nodded.

Ms Garcia left them to resume her post of watching the other kids at recess. The two of them headed to the nurse's office by themselves.

Alvin noticed that Brittany was still wincing in pain, and even walking with a slight limp. "How's your arm and your knee?"

"Still hurts. And I may have also hit my head. Did I hit my head against your head? Or was it just the ground?" She groaned. "What about your knee?"

Alvin shrugged as he tried feeling his head for bumps and bruises. "My knee is starting to hurt a little more. But my head is fine. I think your head hit my shoulder, though, I can feel a bit of a bruise there." He sighed, "If I only did a better job of saving you, we wouldn't be on our way to the nurse's office. Sorry about that."

Brittany smiled over at him, despite the pain. "Oh, thank you again for saving me, though. That ball was aiming right for my head! And it was half as big as me! _I'm_ actually sorry that I didn't get to hang out with you at lunch today. And I'm sorry that I haven't been very friendly around you, or your brothers. I guess I was mad at you yesterday at recess, for looking at my panties. I've heard from my sisters that you guys are really nice. But I've just heard nothing but bad stuff about you guys from my manager."

Alvin slightly chuckled while rolling his eyes. "Yeah, we go way back with Uncle Ian. And we really didn't leave him on the best of terms."

Brittany paused. "How did you know our manager's name? We aren't even supposed to tell you."

Alvin clarified, "At lunch, we were talking with your sisters, telling them about our manager - and dad, we call Dave - and asking them to tell us more about your manager, or what you call him at home. When Jeanette said that at home you call your manager 'Uncle Ian', we realized it was Ian Hawke, since that's what we called him when he was our manager. I guess he's still pretty mad at us if he doesn't want you girls to tell us anything about your home life." He took a few more steps before adding, "Oh, and sorry about recess yesterday. I mean, I wasn't _trying_ to look up your skirt - nice as your panties were - but your dress was coming up on its own while you were spinning around really fast. Your sisters told me at lunch that I had made you feel bad then, so I felt bad after hearing that and just wanted to apologize."

"Apology accepted." Brittany smiled at him. "I feel bad now that all I hear about you from Uncle Ian is bad. I mean, he loves me, and he's nice to me. It's too bad I'm the only chipmunk he likes."

"He was kinda nice to me, too - at least while we lived with him." Alvin stated in surprise. "He just wasn't so nice to my brothers. Uncle Ian would lock them in the 'Punishment Cage' a lot - sometimes for no good reason. But Giorgio _totally_ loved me. He was nicer to my brothers than Ian was, but he was even nicer to me. I was definitely the closest of the Chipmunks to him." He sighed again. "Well, we're almost to the nurse's office. How is your arm and your knee, and your head? My knee is starting to hurt a little more, and my shoulder still feels sore, but OK."

Brittany glanced at her wounds. "They're still bleeding, and they all still hurt a little more than earlier, but now that I've gotten to talk to you I realize you aren't the enemy - I feel a lot better about you. For what it's worth, I'm still glad you could 'rescue' me from that ball. I guess this makes you my 'hero' or something." They shared a chuckle.

He slipped his arm around her and smiled at her as they came up to the door of the nurse's office. "It was my pleasure - at least I got to meet you during this whole accident. And now that I've met you, I don't want to let anything bad happen to you. I mean, we singing chipmunks have got to stick together."

* * *

 **A/N:** Ryan and Xander are from "The Squeakquel", and Derek is from the 2015 Nickelodeon cartoon series. And since Alvin is in Kindergarten, and he's never been the most "grammatically correct", so it would make sense that he would say "me and my brothers..." instead of "my brothers and I...". But I'm sure some hardcore "grammar enthusiasts" were still cringing. This chapter is fairly short and sweet, but I'm sure the Alv-ittany fans were anxious about them meeting. Looks like they can be nicer to each other when they realize they are on the same team!


	7. Secret Reunion At School

**Chip-ergarten**

 **About This Story:** The Chipmunks start Kindgarten and meet some mysterious new friends, the Chipettes. Some similarities may overlap with "The Squeakquel", only they are in Kindergarten. Warning: some chapters contain some harsher adult(-ish) themes, even though age-wise they are 5. I don't own any part of the Chipmunk franchise, just borrowing them from Nickelodeon, Janice Karman,  & Ross Bagdasarian, their family, & their company.

 **About This Chapter:** Rated PG-13+(T+), for an illicit and inappropriate relationship between an adult and a child, mentions of and allusions to male anatomy, nudity, same-sex attraction, DFSA (drug-facilitated sexual assault, aka - date rape drugs). (Sorry, this chapter might push the rating, but I try to cut it off before the activity goes "too far".)

 **Pairings:** Alvin/Brittany, Alvin/Giorgio(OC)

* * *

 **7\. Secret Reunion At School**

Alvin sighed as he sat on the bench outside the nurse's office. He glanced up at a clock on the wall. If only he could tell time like Simon could!

His right knee had some gauze bandaged to it. He was planning to wait for his new friend Brittany to leave the nurse's office so they could go back to class together, but she kept complaining of increasing pain in her head. The pain got worse once she burst into tears, some of the pain was due to the collision itself, but it had been made worse by her sheer exhaustion. The nurse called someone to come take Brittany home, but she told Alvin to just wait outside for a few moments before dismissing him back to class.

His concern for Brittany's well-being was only exceeded by his boredom at the moment. He concentrated on swinging his dangling feet for a while until he heard some adults talking around the corner.

"Excuse me, but which way to the nurse's office?" Asked a male voice that sounded familiar, and driven by a cultured and slightly fruity-sounding accent.

"Just right around the corner." Directed a female voice.

"Thank you." Replied the male voice as his footsteps neared. He gasped when he rounded the corner. "Oh my gosh! If it isn't my favorite little boy in the whole wide world! Alvin! So good to see you, Li'l Squirt!"

Alvin looked up and smiled. "Giorgio! I've missed you, Uncle Gi-gi!" He stood on the bench so he could hug his friend, who enveloped him in a friendly hug and pecked a little kiss to each of his cheeks. Giorgio's neatly-groomed goatee and mustache tickled Alvin's face.

When Giorgio released his embrace, he sat on the bench next to Alvin's left side and asked, "So, what brings you here? I thought I was just coming to pick up Miss Brittany, since I heard she bumped into another kid on the playground and hit her head."

"Yeah, that was me." Alvin confessed. "So I guess it was destiny that brought me here." He winked at Giorgio and they shared a laugh. "I mean, Brittany wouldn't even talk to me until our little accident during recess, where I tried to keep a hard and fast ball from plowing into her. Now that we've walked to the nurse's office together, I may have a better shot with her." He crossed his index and middle fingers of both hands out to the sides of his face, throwing another wink to his friend. "She seems like a nice girl, but I'm sure she's still way out of my league. Oh, Uncle Gi-gi, please don't tell Uncle Ian about me hanging out a little with Brittany today! I don't want her to get in trouble, and it's not like she _tried_ to run into me and get hurt."

Giorgio smiled and shook his head. "Oh, Alvin..." He placed a hand on Alvin's left shoulder. "Sounds like you've got a little crush on my Li'l Princess." He threw a wink at his young friend. "Even though I work for your 'Dear Uncle Ian', you know that I don't necessarily tell him _everything_. In fact, I could definitely keep this little meeting a secret, if you could...show me where the little boys' room is?" He shot another playful wink at the little boy chipmunk.

"Sure!" Alvin smiled up at him, took his right hand, and leapt off the bench. He landed with a slight wince. "Well, I may not go very fast, but I can still take you there."

Giorgio picked him up, letting Alvin sit on the crook of his left arm. "How about I carry you, but you just point to direct me where to go?"

"Sounds good, but it's just right over there." Alvin pointed across the cafeteria atrium.

As soon as Giorgio carried Alvin into the boys' restroom, he called out, "Hello? Anyone in here?" Hearing no reply, he set Alvin down on the sink counter while he himself examined the door. He saw that there was a way of locking it by just turning a key-latch. It was easy! "And, we now have this bathroom all to ourselves. Did the nurse give you anything for your knee?"

Alvin thought for a moment, "She just cleaned it off and put some 'knee-aspirin cream' or something like that on it, but I didn't eat or drink any medicine for it."

"Neosporin cream?" Giorgio guessed.

"Yeah, something like that!" Alvin giggled. "I remembered it had something to do with my knee, but it worked for Brittany's elbow, too."

Giorgio opened his professional-looking leather hip satchel portfolio, or his "man-purse" or "man-bag", as he sometimes called it. "Let me see if I may have something in here that might help you with the pain... Ah-ha! I found something...but maybe just half a tablet will help you." He opened the child-proof cap on a small amber-colored prescription vial, and dumped a few tablets into his hands. They were tiny oval-shaped white tablets, one of which he was able to crack in half using the score-line that ran down the middle of the tablet. He replaced the other tablets into the vial, along with the other half of the one that he broke.

"What's that?" Alvin asked, pointing to the prescription vial.

"Oh, this?" Giorgio motioned to the vial. "This is my medicine. It helps me stay calm while working for your Uncle Ian. You boys were great, and so are the girls now, but you know how Ian can add a lot of unnecessary stress-please don't tell him I said that. Since you're in school now, can you read yet?"

"Well, kinda..." Alvin shrugged. "I can read my name, which is spelled 'A-L-V-I-N', and I know my last name is spelled 'S-E-V-I-L-L-E', but you don't say the 'E' at the end of my last name. But Simon still reads good-er than me."

"That's OK. You'll learn." Giorgio held the vial out to let Alvin look at the label that he couldn't read, anyway.

All Alvin recognized on the vial's label was the name "PARNETTI, GIORGIO". Toward the middle was a long word that started with "A-L", just like his own name, but he was lost in the mumbo-jumbo of the string of letters that followed. Simon could probably read it, and would probably know what it was with just one, brief glance.

"Now, put this in your mouth," Giorgio held out the halved tablet to him, as well as a small bottle of water he had in his man-bag. "But drink this water to wash it down really fast, so you don't have to chew it or taste it too long. I know you can do it, since I used to give you and your brothers a baby-aspirin every once in a while, especially when your throats got sore from singing at concerts."

"So, do I need to eat?" Alvin asked after he swallowed the tablet with a swig from the water bottle.

"No, you're good." Giorgio smiled. "You might feel sleepy, though." He changed his tone and sighed. "Oh, how I have missed hanging out with you, Alvin!"

"I've missed you, Uncle Gi-gi!" Alvin smiled with his arms outstretched to the man.

Giorgio hugged Alvin in return. "Oh...just look at you..." He smiled, nuzzling Alvin's nose with his own, while his goatee and mustache tickled Alvin's lips and chin. "Boy, you have grown since I last saw you." His hands were holding around Alvin's shoulders and upper arms. "And you look so athletic, now! I bet you've got some big muscles under this shirt. And is your belly fur still soft and fuzzy? How will the ladies keep their hands off you?"

"I'll even show you." Alvin offered as he started taking off his shirt. "You may still have to help me a little, but you used to give me and my brothers baths all the time. And you would also change us into different outfits for concerts. Right now, I have a bruise on my right shoulder, from where Brittany hit her head. It still kinda hurts."

"Oh, you poor Li'l Squirt..." Giorgio helped him remove his shirt, but he let Alvin keep wearing his hat. He got out his camera phone and said, "Work it, boy! Show me those big muscles!" He took several shots of Alvin flexing his arm muscles in different poses. "Yeah! Good job!" He nuzzled Alvin again while gently stroking the soft, fine fur on his chest and belly. "Oh, you are still soft and fuzzy! You are just one cute and handsome little guy! Just look at those cute little nipples, and that cute little belly button! Hey, remember the tickle-game we used to play?"

"Yeah!" Alvin giggled as Giorgio tickled his chest and belly. "I even remember how you would spank me. It never hurt, though. It was kinda fun."

"Oh yes, I remember that, too!" Giorgio laughed. "I wonder if your little tushie is as cute now as it was when you were two or three. Your little tail is still as cute as I remember. How old are you now, by the way?"

"I'm five!" Alvin stated proudly. He started unbuttoning and unzipping his denim jean shorts. "How old are you, Uncle Gi-gi?"

Giorgio helped him undress, being careful to avoid disturbing the bandage on his right knee as he slipped off Alvin's pants, as well as his socks and shoes. "Wow, five! You're so grown up! I'm still twenty-nine...OK, forty-two, but I do pilates and yoga at the gym twice a week."

Alvin laughed, "I won't tell anyone, but I thought you were like eighteen or something."

"Oh, pish-posh. You are so sweet, Li'l Squirt." Giorgio flicked his right wrist and giggled. "I like how you count. You are probably so good at math that you might even need to give your big brother, Simon, lessons on how to count like you. And, what adorable little boxers you're wearing! They're goldenrod-yellow with some scarlet-red 'A's' on them! I bet your Daddy Seville has been spoiling you rotten with love."

"Yeah, Dave is great! He got me a whole bunch of undies just like these." Alvin smiled. "I was so excited to get these kinds of big-boy pants, and I wanted to show them off to people, but Dave told me I was supposed to keep them a secret. He'd probably never let me show them to you."

"He's not here, so I won't tell him if you don't." Giorgio raised an eyebrow. "Want me to snap a few pics of you modeling them?"

Alvin nodded with enthusiasm, and struck several poses for Giorgio. He also walked along the sink countertop, pretending it was a catwalk.

Giorgio pulled a sharpie-pen out of his man-bag and asked, "Would you consider autographing your cute little boxers for me, so I can take some home as a souvenir? It would be something fun to remember you, and you did say you have others like this at home, didn't you?"

"Oh yeah!" Alvin giggled. "You can totally have these, and I would be happy to sign them for you. It's not too high a price for you, Uncle Gi-gi. Besides, I've always wondered what it would be like to go commando." He let Giorgio help him shimmy out of his boxers, then accepted the pen, and signed his name on the boxers. He used one of the red "A's", outlining around it with the pen, then wrote in the "L-V-I-N" next to it. "There you go!"

"Thank you, Alvin!" Giorgio slipped the boxers into his man-bag. He even snapped a few pics of Alvin in nothing but his birthday suit and hat. "I sure miss giving you baths and stuff. Your little tushie is still cute, and so are your little - I mean, _nicely-endowed_ -considering-that-the-rest-of-you-is-little - manly bits. Or do you call them your munk-bits?"

Alvin giggled. "Dave told me to call it my penis, or my boy parts or my private parts. When he's not around, sometimes I call it my munk-hood, or my munk-junk, or I even still like 'munk-bits'. One time I got in trouble when I called it my..." He motioned for Giorgio to come close so he could whisper the rest in his ear.

Giorgio laughed. "Oh, Alvin, even Uncle Ian would've locked you in the Punishment Cage for hearing you call it that! You naughty, naughty little boy." He shook his finger at Alvin in mock-disappointment, but spoiled the act by laughing. He ended it with a sigh. "Anyway, nowadays I give the Chipettes baths, and Miss Brittany is sometimes the only one who appreciates and enjoys the things I do for them, totally out of love, of course. I get to see them naked all the time, but I've missed seeing you naked. Their girly-bits are just not your...munk-bits."

"Really? Got any pics on your phone of the girls taking baths?" Alvin asked out of curiosity. "It's on my bucket-list, I'll admit, but I still haven't seen any girls naked."

Giorgio looked at the menu of pics on his phone. "Ummm...no, sorry. I must've uploaded them all to my laptop by now. But, hey, maybe some other day, you could offer selling your autograph or your autographed boxers, for the asking price of them to take it all off for you. I'll just have to come up with another way to make it worth your while today. Would it help if we played the tickle-game or the kissing-game?"

Alvin's heart skipped a beat, and his tail wagged happily. He totally missed this bonding time with his Uncle Gi-gi! "Would I ever!" He punched his right fist into the air and did a happy little jump. When he landed, he felt dizzy and toppled off the counter.

Giorgio caught him before he could hit the floor. "Whoa! Careful, Alvin. I don't want you to hurt yourself any more. I think the medicine is starting to work. How about I hold you for a moment, while you just relax for a nice body-rub. Just like I used to give you to help you sleep?" He cradled Alvin on his left forearm, with Alvin's head pillowed up against his inner elbow, and his legs and tail sprawled out towards Giorgio's wrist and left hand.

Alvin nodded, "Uh-huh... Thanks for the save, Uncle Gi-gi!" He suddenly felt sleepy, so he closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensation of Giorgio's fingers gently stroking him between his chest and his upper and inner thighs, and everywhere in between.

"Shhh, shhh, shhh... Just breathe..." Giorgio whispered just an inch away from Alvin's lips. He planted a small but slow, sweet kiss on Alvin's lips, while nuzzling his nose and letting his facial hair tickle the boy chipmunk's face. Giorgio started planting similar small kisses down the rest of Alvin's body, starting at his nose, moving to his lips, and moving down his chin, then neck, then chest, then even further down. Alvin dozed off with the feeling of Giorgio's kiss right below his navel.

* * *

"What happened?" Alvin sat up and felt of his head. He looked around quickly. He was now fully dressed, and sitting on the bathroom counter.

"Oh, good, you're up!" Giorgio smiled at him while washing his hands, and using the paper towels to clean something that looked like he had earlier spilled on the right shoulder of his collared button-up shirt and necktie. He had taken off the gray blazer he was wearing earlier and folded it into his man-bag. Glancing at his watch and picking up the shoulder strap to his man-bag, he stated, "Whoa! You've been napping for the past thirty minutes. How do you feel now, Alvin?"

"Still sleepy." Alvin yawned. He suddenly gasped. "Oh my gosh! We should probably get back to the nurse's office to check on Brittany. The nurse might be wondering where I am by now, and so will Ms Garcia, my teacher."

Giorgio helped Alvin off the counter as he tried to find his footing again. "Can you walk OK? What about your knee? And your shoulder? Do they still hurt?" He asked as he unlocked and opened the door.

Alvin staggered out of the restroom, followed by his Uncle Gi-gi. "I think I'm mostly having trouble walking because of the medicine, which is still making me feel dizzy. But my knee isn't hurting as much as it was. Maybe you should give Brittany the other half of that pill that you gave me. That would help her sleep so she could forget about her headache and her scraped up elbow and knee."

Giorgio picked him up and carried him when he saw that Alvin was stumbling. "I'll do just that! But I'll see how she is first." He patted Alvin's back. "You might not want to run around much for the rest of the day, especially since you aren't wearing your cute little boxers anymore."

"Oh, yeah!" Alvin giggled. "So _this_ is what it feels like to go commando." He wiggled his hips around a little. "Oh-ho! I feel like such a rebel!" He laughed as they made their way back to the nurse's office.

"There you are, Alvin!" The nurse sighed with relief from the open doorway to the nurse's office. "I was starting to worry about you. I knew I didn't send you back to class just yet, but I thought you were just sitting out on the bench. I figured you needed to use the restroom or something. Did you get lost on the way there and back, Dear?"

"Oh, I had to show my Uncle Gi-gi - I mean, Uncle Giorgio - where the bathroom was, and then I had to go." Alvin fibbed. "But the nearest bathroom was locked, I guess they were working on it, so we had to go to the one in the gym."

Giorgio set Alvin on the bench and shook hands with the school nurse. "Hi, I'm Giorgio Parnetti. I came to pick up Miss Brittany Chipette, if she's still here. But then I needed to use the restroom, and I ran into my little nephew here, who just told you the rest of our little adventure. How is Brittany doing now, by the way?"

"Good afternoon, Mr Parnetti, I'm Nurse Gloria Stephens." She returned the handshake. "And thank you so much for coming to get Brittany. She was taking a little nap, since she had a headache. I gave her some Children's Motrin, with a few crackers. She seems better than she was, but I don't think she feels like going back to class." She turned to kneel next to Alvin, "And I am so sorry if you felt like I forgot about you from earlier. For a few moments there, I thought Brittany would still want to go back to class with you, but I had to call someone to take her home instead. But thank you so much for waiting for her like the brave, sweet gentleman that you are. I guess you can go back to class whenever you'd like." She handed him a small slip of paper. "Just give this to your teacher when you get back to class, and show it to anyone who asks in the hallway. This functions as your hall pass and your excuse note for missing this part of your afternoon classes. Anything else I can do for you, Young Man?"

Alvin smiled and shook his head. "Thanks, Miss Nurse Stephens! You've _really_ helped me out! I'd love to come visit you some other time, even when I'm not hurt or sick - and not just for the animal crackers!"

Nurse Stephens laughed as she stood up. "Well, I try to save the animal crackers for the kids who need them, but if you see me out in the hall or at lunch, you're always welcome to wave and say hi. I'm sure you're a real joy to have in class, too! Right now, I'm gonna bring out Miss Brittany and let you say goodbye to her before your uncle takes her home."

"OK!" Alvin chuckled as she went back in her office. He loved Miss Nurse Stephens, she reminded him of his grandmother. And it was obvious she loved doting on all of her "patients" as if they were her grandchildren. "Isn't she awesome?" He smiled giddily at Giorgio, who nodded and grinned in return.

When Nurse Stephens opened her office door again, she was leading Brittany out by her left hand. "Hey, Brittany, look who came to get you?"

Brittany still looked sleepy and somewhat cranky, like she just woke up from a nap. She also used the back of her free right hand to rub the sleep out of her eyes. But her demeanor cheered when she saw Giorgio. "Uncle Gi-gi!" She took a few steps toward him with outstretched arms.

Giorgio scooped her up in his left arm, pecking little kisses on both sides of her face. "Brittany!" He hugged her, then backed up to look at her, smoothing her bangs out of her face with his right hand. "How are you feeling, Li'l Princess?"

"Still tired," she shrugged, "My head still kinda hurts, and so do my knee and elbow. I guess they don't hurt as much as they did before my nap, but I still don't feel like going back to class today."

"That's OK, Li'l Princess, I'll just take you home, where you can have a nice nap." Giorgio hugged her close to his left shoulder again as Nurse Stephens handed him an excuse slip, similar to Alvin's.

"Just be sure to bring this back with her tomorrow, since if she's feeling better, she's welcome back in class." Explained Nurse Stephens. "Or you can drop it by her teacher right now, if you want to stop by her classroom to get Brittany's things before you leave. And don't forget to sign her out at the same office where you checked in. Let me know if you need anything else. OK, Sweetie?" She rubbed Brittany's back empathetically before returning back to her office, closing the door behind her.

Alvin hopped off the bench. "If she just wants to go home now, and doesn't want to go back to class to get her stuff and see everyone, I could just tell Jeanette and Eleanor to take her stuff with them when they go home on the bus."

"That would be great, Alvin! Thanks, that will help us out a lot." Giorgio knelt next to Alvin, adjusting Brittany in his arms so she could say goodbye to him. "Hey, Brittany, anything you wanna tell Alvin before we leave?"

"Sure." She groaned, but tried to smile a little for Alvin. "Thanks for everything, Alvin!" She reached out her right hand in his direction.

"Will I see you at school tomorrow?" Alvin asked, concerned for his new friend. He took hold of her hand in his right hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Maybe I'll feel better by then." She groaned. "But thanks for telling my sisters to bring my backpack and lunchbox. Tell them I love them and hope to see them tonight back at home."

"Will do, Brittany." He gave her hand one final squeeze before letting go. "I hope you feel better, so we can see you at school tomorrow."

"Thanks..." Brittany mumbled as she dozed off on Giorgio's shoulder, while he was standing up.

"Shhh, shhh, shhh..." Giorgio patted Brittany's back as he stood up. He glanced back down at Alvin as he started walking away from the nurse's office. "I guess it's time I let you get back to class. It was so good to see you, Li'l Squirt!" He leaned over and picked up Alvin with his free right arm so he could give him another hug and kiss his cheeks again. "Mmm...mmm! I love ya, Alvin, ya Li'l Squirt!"

Alvin returned the hug and kisses. "I love you, too, Uncle Gi-gi! I hope to see you again!"

"Me too!" Giorgio set Alvin back on the ground. "Oh, before we go, let me leave you with a little something. Just a moment." He turned his back to Alvin and seemed to whisper something to Brittany. When he turned back to Alvin, he was holding out some small, pink material with various shades of pink flowers all over it. "Well, since I took your little boxers, it only seemed fair that I gave you Brittany's little panties. You can change into them in the little boys' room right now, if you'd like. Or you can put them in your pocket, if you still wanna go commando. Either way - everything today, between our reunion outside the nurse's office until now - especially our little bonding fun and games in the little boys' room - keep that as our little secret. I won't tell Uncle Ian that you and Brittany made friends, if you keep all of that other stuff a secret. OK? Promise?"

Alvin nodded and pretended to zip his lip with his right hand as he accepted the panties with his left hand. "Totally, Uncle Gi-gi, our secret. Thanks for the, uh...for everything." He motioned to Brittany's flowered panties as he stuffed them into the front left pocket of his denim shorts. He added a wink as he walked back to class, while seeing Giorgio and Brittany walk back to the office.

* * *

 **A/N:** Not sure whether you like Giorgio, or want to shoot him (like Dave would upon finding out what he did to Alvin)? Me neither! He's just such a charming character, who kinda reminds me of my mom (his constant use of the word "little"), but he's got a creepy-creeper streak. Sorry to push the rating with this character and this chapter, but just wanted to show some temptation, from the perspective of a 5-year-old, who still can't use his judgment to distinguish which secrets are OK to keep  & which are not (some of us even get tempted with similar dilemmas at 15, 25, 35, 45,...even 105). Since Ian doesn't use the word "love" around the chipmunks, but Giorgio does (especially with Alvin & Brittany), as you can probably see, this would warp Alvin's & Brittany's understanding of "love" (why, as they get older, they obsess about their appearances, crave individual attention from their parent, & yet think so highly of themselves as if the world revolves around them). Kind of fascinating to me!

An inside joke in our family is that my mom talks with her hands a lot, & the rest of us like to laugh about when she says "little", & she makes hand motions like she is squishing down a small, invisible, cube-shaped box with her hands or her fingers. My dad jokes about how she describes everything as "cute" &/or "little". (Dad: "So, how was the movie?" Mom: sighs, "Oh, it was cute.")

My niece Macy is 5, & she just started Kindergarten this week (I hope her school does a better job of keeping out creeps like Giorgio, no matter how charming they may be. Lol!). A part in here that made me think of her was when Alvin was talking about how Dave got him some "big-boy pants", and he wanted to show them off, but Dave told him to keep it a secret. Well, when Macy was about 3, & getting potty-trained, she was so excited about getting to wear "big-girl panties" that she couldn't wait to show them off, but her mom (& the rest of us) was like "No, put your dress down, you're supposed to keep your big-girl panties a secret!"

The medicine that Giorgio gives Alvin is alprazolam (Xanax), which is a (controlled substance, aka - C-IV, that's a Roman numeral "4") drug he's using for his high anxiety of working with (& for) Ian, but on an "as needed" basis. (So, Ian gets under Giorgio's skin, too!) It doesn't usually help with pain, but in this case it's used as DFSA, so Alvin will sleep through everything without remembering any of it. So Giorgio will cover his tracks even if Alvin forgets to keep it all secret. Alprazolam does cause drowsiness, & an overdose can cause people to stop breathing (yet another reason Giorgio reminded Alvin to "just breathe").


	8. Bath Time

**Chip-ergarten**

 **About This Story:** The Chipmunks start Kindgarten and meet some mysterious new friends, the Chipettes. Some similarities may overlap with "The Squeakquel", only they are in Kindergarten. Warning: some chapters contain some harsher adult(-ish) themes, even though age-wise they are 5. I don't own any part of the Chipmunk franchise, just borrowing them from Nickelodeon, Janice Karman,  & Ross Bagdasarian, their family, & their company.

 **About This Chapter:** Rated PG-13, For mentions of male anatomy and nudity, as well as recalls to the previous chapter (involving the date-rape drugging and the child molesting).

 **Pairings:** Alvin/Brittany, Simon/Jeanette, Theodore/Eleanor

* * *

 **8\. Bath Time**

"OK, fellas, now that I have your nice, warm bath water running, and some bubbles, does anyone need to go to the bathroom before you guys take a bath?" Dave asked his three sons while he sat on a small chair next to the tub in their bathroom.

The three chipmunk brothers glanced at each other and shrugged. They all shook their heads as they looked back at their father.

"We all went just after dinner. Remember?" Simon stated. He stepped forward and let Dave help him undress. Once Simon was in nothing but his glasses, Dave helped him get into the bathtub, setting him near the deepest end, near the drain and faucet.

"How do you like the water, Simon?" Dave asked as his oldest son felt of the water.

Simon smiled up at him, then reached over where there was a digital thermometer hanging by a piece of string tied to the faucet. "Ah, ninety-five, point five degrees Fahrenheit. Perfect, Dave!"

"Good to hear that I have made a Simon-approved bath." Dave laughed as he handed Simon a toy boat and a blue washcloth. He looked over to his youngest son, who was starting to undress. Dave helped him. "Are you ready to join him, Theodore?"

"Uh-huh!" Theodore giggled excitedly. Once he was completely undressed, Dave picked him up using a hand under each arm, while Theodore stood with his back to Dave. As Dave started lowering him into the drain end near Simon, Theodore started to panic, pulling his knees up to his stomach. " _Noooo!_ Not there!"

Dave pulled him back up to stand on the edge of the tub so he could see his scared little face. "What's wrong, Theodore? I thought you might want to sit by Simon."

"I'm scared of the drain." Theodore whimpered. "The sea monsters are gonna come out of the drain and get me."

"But Simon is there, and no sea monsters are getting him." Dave threw Simon a puzzled look.

Simon sighed and rolled his eyes. "Oh, Theodore got his tail stuck in the drain strainer, back when we were two or three years old, and Ian Hawke's assistant used to give us baths in the kitchen sink. It was pretty traumatic for him." He then seemed to be thinking about it a little more, and he absent-mindedly mumbled to himself, "I sure hope Jeanette and her sisters don't have that problem..."

"Who?" Dave snapped him out of his thoughts.

Simon blinked and shook his head. "Oh, never mind, Dave, I think the experience just reminded me of something I saw on TV." He still didn't think it was the right time to tell Dave about the Chipettes. Unbeknownst to Dave, Simon shared a nervous smile with Theodore, who winked back at him.

"Oh...OK." Dave shrugged as though lost in his own thoughts. He moved Theodore around so that he could look at him and reassure him. "I'm sorry, Theodore, I didn't realize you felt that way about the drain. How would you like for me to put you in the shallow end?"

"That would be great!" The little sandy-blonde boy chipmunk nodded and smiled. "Thanks, Dave."

"OK..." Dave had another idea. "How would you like to run across the top of the water from the drain end to the shallow end? Maybe if you kick and splash your feet, the sea monsters won't get you?"

Theodore giggled. "Yeah! That sounds like fun!"

Dave lowered Theodore to where the tips of his toes were dangling into the water. He started at the drain end, where Simon was. "Ready?" He asked Theodore.

"Yeah!" Theodore nodded.

"Here we go!" Dave laughed as he moved Theodore across the water to the shallow end. Theodore splashed his feet, to create the feeling that he was running across the surface of the water. "And, Theodore is walking on the water!"

Theodore laughed as Dave set him down in the shallow end. "That was fun, Dave!"

Dave laughed as he ruffled Theodore's hair and handed him a rubber-ducky toy and a green washcloth. "I'm glad I could make it fun for you, Theodore. Don't worry, I won't let the drain get you - or any sea monsters in the drain." He glanced over and saw that Simon was smiling while watching their antics. "And I'm sure Simon won't let anything get you, either. Isn't that right, Simon?" Dave asked as he ruffled Simon's dark brown hair.

"Affirmative!" Simon nodded.

Dave smiled back at Theodore. "And neither will Alvin. Isn't that right, Alvin?" Hearing no response, Dave called out again, "Alvin? Are you still in the room?" He sat up and turned around to find his middle son still standing right where he left him, fully dressed - including his hat, and his head was down as if he was looking at the floor. "Alvin? What are you looking at?"

"Huh?" Alvin quickly looked up at his father, who moved to kneel right in front of him. He blinked as if he were just waking up from a nap.

"Alvin, were you asleep standing up?" Dave asked as he removed Alvin's hat to smooth his bangs and feel of his forehead.

"I guess..." Alvin shrugged sleepily as he let Dave undress him for his bath. "How long have I been here in the bathroom?"

"Uh, probably just ten or fifteen minutes, tops." Dave shrugged. "But you've been dozing off a lot, and you've seemed so out of it like this all afternoon, Alvin. And I know I saw on that slip you brought home from the nurse's office, that all she gave you was some Neosporin cream for your knee. Are you sure you didn't take anything else? Anything the nurse may have forgotten to write down that you took? Like, say, Benadryl?"

"No, not that I remember..." Alvin suddenly remembered his promise to Giorgio to keep everything secret. "Oh, wait... Yeah, she did give me some 'Benny-Drill' to help with the pain."

"That's for allergies, Alvin." Dave stated, still confused. "I wonder why a nurse would give you Benadryl, when you needed something for pain - preferably something non-drowsy." At this point, Dave was removing Alvin's jean shorts, being careful not to disturb the bandage on his right knee, when he did a double-take. "Uh, Alvin, weren't you also wearing underwear this morning when I sent you to school?"

Alvin scoffed as he remembered his promise to cover for Giorgio. "Really, Dave? I have a bandage on my knee and a bruise on my shoulder, and I've been sleep-walking most of the afternoon, and the most surprising thing to you about my condition is that I'm not wearing underwear? Come on! I can go commando if I want to..."

Dave glanced over to his other two boys, who had been peeking out of the tub watching them. "Hey, Simon?"

"Yes, Dave?" Simon blinked.

Dave continued, "Did you happen to see Alvin as he got dressed this morning?"

"Yes I did." Simon nodded.

"Me too." Theodore added.

Dave asked them, "And did either of you see if he was wearing underwear this morning?"

"Yes." Both of them nodded in unison.

Dave looked back at Alvin with a raised eyebrow.

Alvin changed his story. "Uh, I must've lost my underwear at school."

Dave glanced over at Simon and Theodore. "Did either of you happen to see or know when Alvin took off his underwear?"

They both shook their heads. Simon went on to explain, "Just that Alvin spent nearly two hours at the nurse's office this afternoon. I didn't see it happen, but I heard he was in an accident at recess where he ran into a girl, who was actually hurt worse than he was. They both went to the nurse's office together, and were gonna come back to class together, but this girl was feeling worse, and someone had to come get her."

"Yeah, I hope she's OK, now." Alvin blinked. He wanted to keep his meeting with Giorgio a secret for Brittany's sake as well, so that Giorgio wouldn't tell Ian about them becoming friends. He didn't want Brittany or any of her sisters to get in trouble with Ian.

"Oh, so that's what happened." Dave still had an inquisitive look on his face. "That at least explains why you had to go to the nurse's office, but it still doesn't answer how you lost your underwear, Alvin. I mean, why would the nurse need to remove your shorts or your underwear, just to bandage your knee? Unless maybe you had a bathroom-related accident in your pants, if that happened I would at least expect someone from the school to call me so I could bring you some clean clothes. Is that what happened?"

Alvin absent-mindedly nodded. "Yeah...a small bathroom accident that just messed up my underwear. So I threw them out while I went to the bathroom while I was waiting for that other girl to go back to class. That must've been when it happened. It was still too late in the day to bother calling you, and interrupt your busy day, so I just went commando."

"Well, you've been so tired and out of it all afternoon, that I don't know what to believe." Dave placed a hand on Alvin's left shoulder. "But, are you OK now, son? Will a nice, warm bath help you feel better? We'll do what we can to keep your knee bandage dry, OK?"

Alvin nodded and smiled at his dad. He couldn't help but feel a little guilty about lying through his teeth about how he went commando that afternoon. But he also hadn't told Simon or Theodore about his secret rendezvous with Giorgio, and he was afraid they would tell Dave for sure if they knew, since during lunch they had shared with Eleanor and Jeanette how they really felt about him.

As Dave picked up and carried Alvin to the bathtub to set him between Simon and Theodore, he added, "I really wish you'd call me next time and tell me to bring some underwear for you to school. You really should wear underwear with jeans, so you don't get a chafing rash on your private parts. And how else are you gonna keep your boy parts from getting stuck in your zipper?"

All three of the chipmunks winced, curled up, and shielded themselves upon hearing his words.

Dave chuckled. "Sorry to scare you, fellas." He ensured that Alvin could sit comfortably, while propping his right knee on a plastic container, as well as handing Alvin his red washcloth and a rubber toy shark with a bendy tail. "Well, you guys can keep playing, while I start shampooing your hair." He let Simon take off his glasses while he washed the shampoo and conditioner out of his hair.

Dave was in and out of the bathroom for a while, getting some pajamas ready for his boys, as well as making sure Alvin had some clean underwear. He could hear the boys making various vocal sound-effects for their toys, like Simon imitating the "toot-toot" of a boat whistle, Theodore quacking as his ducky splashed, and Alvin growling and roaring as his shark "attacked" his brothers and their toys.

"Sharks don't roar like that, Alvin." Simon rolled his eyes.

"Oh yeah? How do they roar, Mister Smarty-pants?" Alvin groaned. "Or do they go ' _arf-arf_ ' like a puppy-dog?" He made his shark bark, pant, and wag his tail like a dog so that each wag of his tail intentionally splashed his older brother.

Simon looked like he was about to get mad or annoyed, but instead he just laughed. "You know what, Alvin? He's your shark, and you can make him say or do whatever you want. It's a free country."

"Can he take a bite out of your boat? It looks tasty..." Alvin went back to making the shark make a hungry roar as it dove into the side of Simon's boat, splashing enough water into it that it sank about four inches to the bottom of the tub.

"Dave...I'm gonna need a bigger boat." Simon gasped dramatically as Alvin's shark sank it.

"Why can't you just dump the water out of that one?" Alvin suggested.

"You and your stupid shark just made it _look_ like a mere boating accident." Simon rolled his eyes.

"Hey, hey, hey! Chomper is _not_ stupid. He's the coolest pet shark _ever_!" Alvin scoffed. "He's _way_ cooler than Quackie, Theo's lame-o pet ducky. Ha!" Alvin made Chomper roar as he flew through the air to attack Theodore's ducky.

Theodore protectively moved his ducky out of the way, giving Alvin a glare as he whimpered and whined in annoyance. " _Noooo!_ My ducky is _not_ lame! And his name is 'Paddles', not 'Quackie', which would be lame."

Alvin chuckled sarcastically. "Oh, you're right, Theodore, 'Paddles' is _way_ cooler than 'Quackie'."

Dave chuckled watching his boys play in the bathtub. "Is anyone ready to dry off yet? Ready for your nice, cozy jammies?"

The boys started to smile, but before they could respond to Dave's question, Alvin stood up. "Wait, Dave!"

"What is it, Alvin?" Dave asked.

"It's just..." Alvin fidgeted nervously for a moment, before whispering, "Am I clean enough, Dave?"

"What?" Dave couldn't believe Alvin was asking him this. Dave had to get bath toys and add bubbles so Alvin would even get in the water. He always seemed to roll around in mud and dirt, without really caring about cleanliness.

Alvin handed his father his washcloth, and kept glancing nervously downward at himself. "Dave, I still feel dirty. Could you wash me one last time to make sure you get all of it?"

"Well, if it makes you feel better." Dave shrugged as he accepted the washcloth and started washing him off. He was careful to keep the bandage on his knee dry. "Does that still hurt?"

"A little." Alvin shrugged.

"We can check in the morning and see if we need to change the bandage then. OK?" Dave smiled at him as Alvin nodded. As he washed his genital area, Dave remarked, "Does _this_ hurt, Alvin? You still look a little chafed from going commando in jeans. I could probably find some ointment or something to help protect it before you go to bed. Would that help?"

Alvin nodded absent-mindedly.

"It seemed for a while there, that the bath was helping wake you up from your sleepy mood earlier." Dave noted. "Would you like to sit in the tub a little longer, and play with your shark while I help dry off your brothers?"

"OK." Alvin nodded as he sat back down with his right knee resting on the container to prop it out of the water.

"Here, Alvin, you can play with my boat if you like, while I get out." Simon stood up. "The water is falling to eighty-eight degrees, anyway."

"Thanks, Si!" Alvin smiled as he played with the boat, making his shark attack and sink it repeatedly.

Dave helped dry off Simon in his blue towel, enough so he could help him get dressed in his pajamas.

"I'm ready to get out, too." Theodore sighed. Turning to Alvin, he handed him his ducky. "Take care of Paddles for me. He loves you!" Theodore pretended his ducky gave Alvin a kiss on his right cheek.

"Aww, thanks, Theodore!" Alvin smiled. "And I will take good care of him for you. I mean, who says a shark can't be best friends with a duck?"

Theodore laughed to see his ducky nuzzling up to Alvin's shark while Alvin made his shark sound like that of a puppy getting a belly-rub. As Theodore turned back to Dave, he asked, "Can I show Alvin how I can run across the water?"

"Absolutely, Theodore." Dave held him at the upper-waist, letting his feet dangle into the water. "I forgot that Alvin wasn't watching this little trick earlier."

"Watch this, Alvin!" Theodore giggled. He winked up at Dave as his signal to start. Dave, in turn, moved Theodore across the water's surface again so that it felt like he was running across the water. " _Wheeee!_ "

Alvin laughed watching his little brother's stunt. "That's awesome! I wanna do a 'Daring Davey Stunt' next!"

"Sure, Alvin, just let me dry off Theodore." Dave set Theodore down on the bathroom rug as he picked up his green towel. But Theodore started walking alongside his father, and started slipping as he stepped off the rug. "Whoa! Careful, son." Dave caught him up in the towel before he could hurt himself from a slippery fall. "I don't want two of you hurt." He started pat-drying Theo with the towel. "You know...how about I let you sit for a moment all wrapped up in your towel, while I get Alvin out before he falls asleep in the water and drowns - or before the sea monsters come out of the drain and get him."

Theo giggled a little, before he looked slightly worried. "OK, Dave, I'll stay here. But please don't let the sea monsters get my brother!"

"I'm OK, Theo!" Alvin chuckled from in the tub. "I've got Chomper and Paddles protecting me from the sea monsters. But I guess I'm ready to dry off, before I forget what it feels like to wear underwear."

Dave looked into the tub at Alvin. "Are you ready for me to flip you?"

Alvin's eyes went wide with excitement. "Yeah! Flip me!" He leaned forward so that Dave could place his hands on Alvin's back at waist-level, with his thumbs pointed downward.

"Here we go!" Dave flipped Alvin forward as he lifted him out of the water.

Alvin laughed as his feet came forward and nearly kicked his father in the face. " _Wheeee!_ Thanks, Dave! That was so much fun!"

Dave chuckled as he pat-dried Alvin. "That was fun for me too, Alvin. Your boy parts still look a little chafed. Would you like me to get the ointment from my bathroom for you while you boys brush your teeth?"

"OK, Dave." Alvin nodded as Dave dressed him and Theodore in their pajamas.

Dave left the room for a while, as his boys brushed their teeth, combed their hair, and drained the bathtub, being sure to pick up their bath toys. When Dave returned to the chipmunks' bathroom, he carried a tube of ointment in his hand. "OK, Alvin, how would you like to do this? Would you like me to squeeze some out for you and let you put it on yourself? Or do you want me to put it on for you?"

Alvin looked like he was considering the choices. "Umm... I want you to put it on me." After all, he liked the attention, and didn't want Giorgio to be the last man to ever touch him there.

"OK, then come over here." Dave sat in the chair, while standing Alvin on his lap. Dave actually seemed more nervous than Alvin. "Alrighty, son, now we're gonna drop your drawers."

As Dave helped Alvin slip his pajama pants and boxers down just enough for this job, Alvin interrupted him with a quick whisper. "Wait, Dave. Do they have to be in here?" He motioned to his brothers, who were standing in the doorway.

"Alvin, they just took a bath with you, and I just washed all three of you. It's nothing they haven't seen before." Dave shielded Alvin with a towel draped over his arm for extra privacy as he applied the ointment. "But if it makes you feel better... Look, I'm already finished putting on the ointment." He pulled up Alvin's boxers and pajama pants, and set him back on the floor.

"That sure didn't take long." Alvin chuckled nervously, rubbing behind his neck.

"Want me to let you in on a little secret?" Dave leaned over and whispered into Alvin's ear. "That's diaper rash ointment that I had leftover from when you were first getting used to your big-boy pants."

Alvin giggled, while he was thinking, " _Oh great! More embarrassing secrets to keep..._ "

"Well, I'm gonna let you fellas get into bed." Dave shrugged. "I'll be in there in a moment to kiss you guys goodnight, and maybe read you a bedtime story. OK?"

The three chipmunk brothers waved as they left the bathroom, giggling in unison, "Sure, Dave!"

Dave put the tube of diaper rash ointment in his pocket. He then gathered an armload of the boys' dirty clothes so he could take it downstairs to the basement. As he opened the washer door and started loading in the clothes, something fell out of the left front pocket of Alvin's jean shorts.

"What the...?" Dave picked it up and inspected it. It looked like some doll panties, covered in various pink flowers. There was also a slit in the back, as if to make room for a chipmunk tail. Did Alvin find a babydoll at school with underwear in his size, and try to tailor them to fit him? If so, why did he put them in his pocket, rather than try to wear them? Maybe he could call the school nurse tomorrow to find out what was really going on. Something seemed out of place about Alvin all afternoon. Was he hiding something from his father? Dave sighed and muttered to himself. "Just what is that boy doing all day at school?"

* * *

 **A/N:** Some credits - the part where Simon says he's "going to need a bigger boat" and the "boating accident" is from the 1975 movie "Jaws" (even though "Jaws" doesn't really have any connection to the Chipmunks franchise). Alvin's toy shark is named "Chomper" from the 80s cartoon episode "Cookie Chomper III" (It was Alvin's vote for the name of their cat). Theodore's ducky is named "Paddles", which was my 5-year-old niece Macy's "fetus nickname" (before we knew she would be a girl), since her early ultrasound pic looked like some sea monster (like Scotland's "Nessie") paddling around. Benadryl is the American brand name for diphenhydramine, and antihistamine used for either allergies or sleep.

Theodore's " _Noooo!_ " is a nod to my younger brother (Macy's dad, Cliff) when he was near that same age, and he would say it while whining and flapping his arms. He would say to me, "We learned in Sunday school that Jesus is gonna separate the sheep and the goats. The sheep are the good people, and the goats are the bad people. I'm a sheep, what are you?" I may have been mad or annoyed at him, so I said, "I'm a goat." Then he whined and flapped his arms, " _Noooo!_ Don't be a goat!" I told that story to one of my aunts, about 15 years later, and she said, "Seems like Cliff has been getting more 'goat-ish' lately." Cliff also said (back when he was 4 or 5), "We learned a new song in preschool today. It goes, 'Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold.' Silver is where you aren't making new friends, but gold is where you are making new friends. I'm gonna do gold, what are you gonna do?" Since he was getting under my skin, I got under his and said, "I'm gonna do silver." Of course he flapped his arms and whined, " _Noooo!_ Don't do silver!"


	9. Not-So-Gentle Cycle

**Chip-ergarten**

 **About This Story:** The Chipmunks start Kindgarten and meet some mysterious new friends, the Chipettes. Some similarities may overlap with "The Squeakquel", only they are in Kindergarten. Warning: some chapters contain some harsher adult(-ish) themes, even though age-wise they are 5. I don't own any part of the Chipmunk franchise, just borrowing them from Nickelodeon, Janice Karman,  & Ross Bagdasarian, their family, & their company.

 **About This Chapter:** Rated PG-13, for mentions of nudity and insinuations to some sexual activities between an adult and children, including some child abuse, pornographic photos, and references to drugs, but most details are (hopefully) left to the imagination.

 **Pairings:** Alvin/Brittany, Simon/Jeanette, Theodore/Eleanor

* * *

 **9\. Not-So-Gentle Cycle**

"Ready for your bath, girls?" Giorgio motioned to the half of the deep-set kitchen double-sink full of bubbles.

The sisters started exchanging nervous glances.

"I hope you didn't get the water too hot, Uncle Giorgio." Jeanette looked nervous.

"Here, I'll let you test it, Jeanette." Giorgio started undressing her. He even took off her glasses and set them aside. Lowering her into the water, he asked, "How is the water?"

"Oww!" Jeanette withdrew her toes from the water. "It's too hot!"

Giorgio ran some cooler water into the sink. "How about now?" He lowered Jeanette into the water a second time.

"Now it's a little cold." Jeanette sheepishly shrugged.

"Never satisfied, are you, Geek-Girl?" Ian grumbled from behind his assistant.

Jeanette managed a grateful smile at Giorgio. "But thank you for not scalding us with the bath water, Uncle Giorgio."

"You're welcome." Giorgio smiled back at her as he undressed Eleanor. He smiled down at Eleanor and asked, "Have you lost some weight, Little One? Your clothes are coming off a lot easier today."

"Well, I have been trying..." Eleanor beamed. "Thank you for noticing, Uncle Giorgio."

"See, the diet is paying off!" Ian happily remarked from behind Giorgio, as he continued to pace around the apartment kitchen.

Once Eleanor was undressed, Giorgio placed her in the sink next to Jeanette. The water was now deep enough that Eleanor had to dog-paddle to keep her head above the water. "Hey, try not to splash too much, you're getting the kitchen floor wet." Giorgio warned.

"Sorry." Eleanor apologized.

"Here, Ellie." Jeanette helped support her little sister against her hip, so that she didn't have to splash and swim to keep her head above the water.

"Thanks, Jen!" Eleanor smiled with relief.

"Is my Li'l Princess feeling better after her nice, long nap today?" Giorgio asked as he started undressing Brittany.

"Kinda..." Brittany still winced as Giorgio brushed against the bandages on her knee and elbow as he undressed her.

"Sorry about that." He shrugged.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..." Ian spoke up from behind Giorgio. "What happened to my superstar? And where are her panties?"

"Oh, she had a little accident at recess where she ran into a little boy, and spent most of the afternoon in the nurse's office." Giorgio explained. "And when I came to pick her up, I exchanged her panties for these." He reached into his man-bag and pulled out Alvin's autographed boxers, as if he won them as a trophy in a contest. "Wouldn't you know, the little boy she ran into was none other than Alvin, who I saw waiting on the bench outside the nurse's office. He showed me to the little boys' room, where I gave him half a tablet of Xanax and managed to take these, as well as a bunch of pictures with him. I'm sure these pictures and his boxers will be worth a lot on the black market. I can show you the pictures later, Boss."

Ian looked down at the floor, as if contemplating his response. When he looked up, he smiled at Giorgio. "Well done, Parnetti. I will make sure to get your bonus check written out to you soon enough." He stroked his fingers along Brittany's back. "And, well done to you, Brittany. You are definitely my superstar." He glanced over to Giorgio. "Make sure that Miss Brittany gets a 'bonus' tonight, as well. As usual, keep her in 'mint condition', since she's worth more to me that way. But other than that - you are welcome to have fun with her tonight. I know she enjoys her time with her Uncle Giorgio."

Jeanette spoke up, "Since we haven't spent much time with Brittany today, can't she stay with us tonight? After all, we're her sisters, and we love Brittany."

" _We're her sisters..._ " Ian rolled his eyes and did a whinier imitation of Jeanette. In his regular voice, he continued, "You know what, Jeanette? Sometimes DNA is all you and Eleanor are ever going to share with a superstar like Brittany. And I can't even believe you come from the same set of parents. Brittany is hot, superstar material, while you're just her freakishly-tall and scrawny, geeky and awkward older sister. I guess the first one is the throw-away, just like waffles." He sighed. "Then Eleanor is all short and fat..." He sighed again. "Which reminds me...I have a bone to pick with you, Jeanette." He reached into Eleanor's backpack and pulled out a piece of paper. "This is a note from the teacher regarding Eleanor's empty lunchbox for the past two days. Eleanor's diet has been working, just give it some more time, and she'll be as thin as Brittany. I told you that if you _ever_ told a teacher or other adult about her empty lunchbox and her diet, that I would make you spend the night in the Punishment Cage. Knowing this, WHY DID YOU TELL THE TEACHER?"

Brittany spoke up, knowing that Jeanette was cowering and squinting in the sink. "Jeanette didn't say anything about it, Uncle Ian. Another student noticed, and told the teacher."

"HEY, HEY!" Ian barked. "As much as I like you, Brittany, I was talking to _Jeanette_ , and I want _Jeanette_ to answer. She has got to learn to fight her own battles without your help." He glanced sternly at Jeanette. "Well, Jeanette, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Even though Jeanette was without her glasses and couldn't _see_ that Ian was glaring at her, she could feel his burning gaze. She gulped and shyly nodded. "I-I-It's true, Uncle Ian, a-a-another student noticed Eleanor's empty lunchbox and told the teacher."

Ian rolled his eyes and shook his head as he donned some rubber gloves. "You know what, Jeanette? I don't care that 'another student noticed and told the teacher,' next time, you just tell that other student to mind his or her own business." He snatched Jeanette from the sink at her waist - not very gently - then grabbed the spray nozzle from the side of the sink, turning the water to steaming hot. Ignoring her screams, Ian sprayed the soap suds off of her.

Before shoving her into the infamous "Punishment Cage", Ian tore a bit off fur off of Jeanette's tail. "And that's what you get for disobeying me! No dinner for you, skinny!"

"Uncle Ian! It wasn't Jeanette's fault!" Eleanor cried as she tried her best to keep her head above the water.

"You know what, Eleanor...you are absolutely right." Ian snatched Eleanor up from the sink. "I realize now that Jeanette would not be in the Punishment Cage, if a certain sister didn't _need_ to go on a diet in the first place." With that, he sprayed soap suds off Eleanor with the steamy hot water from the nozzle, ignoring her screaming. He also tore some fur off Eleanor's tail before shoving her into the Punishment Cage with Jeanette. Chuckling, he leaned over and asked Eleanor, "Do you think I'm gonna give you any dinner, now?"

Eleanor shook her head as she continued to cry and hug Jeanette.

"That's right, Pumpkin." Ian nodded in a voice like he was talking to a little toddler, but he had to much of a maniacal laugh behind it for any child to find it comforting.

"Can I at least have my teddy bear to snuggle?" Eleanor's lip quivered. "I can't sleep without him."

"Ohhh, the 'poor widdle chubby girl' can't sleep without her teddy bear..." Ian fake-cried to mock her. "Oh, grow up, already, you fat baby!"

At this, Eleanor buried her face against Jeanette's right shoulder and started to cry. Jeanette patted and rubbed her little sister's back to try to comfort her and dry her off. She had a feeling that Ian wouldn't give them a blanket or even a towel to use to dry themselves. They would have to huddle to keep warm enough.

"Oh, Uncle Ian," Brittany begged, " _Please_ let my sisters out of the Punishment Cage. I _really_ do want to be with them tonight. Or you could let me huddle with them in the Punishment Cage..." For selfish reasons, Brittany didn't really want to spend the night in the Punishment Cage. But deep inside her heart, she knew she loved her sisters and knew she belonged with them, and if they were being "hazed" then it was only fair that she share in it along with them.

Ian leveled with Brittany, "Oh no, my little superstar. I already told Giorgio to give you a bonus tonight, which is exactly what you're gonna do - you're sleeping in his room tonight, on a nice, warm and cozy pillow, with a comfy blanket. And unlike your sisters, you don't have to sleep naked, either." He held up a short and skimpy nightie in Brittany's size that he had on the counter. "You even get to wear this."

"What if I don't want to?" Brittany crossed her arms and stared him down.

Ian blinked and sighed before snatching her up with his rubber gloves. He glanced over at Giorgio and ordered, "Parnetti, do you still have the other half of that Xanax you gave Alvin?"

"Sure do, somewhere." Giorgio replied as he dug through his man-bag for the prescription vial. "Here it is."

As Giorgio handed the half of the tablet to his boss, Ian held Brittany down on the counter on her back. A brief struggle followed, as Ian tried to get Brittany's mouth open enough to take the half of the tablet. Struggling also made her hit her head against the counter, which caused her to start crying again. She eventually swallowed it, once she became too weary of fighting back - and her knee and elbow started bleeding again. Ian removed the bandages completely, knowing they would probably come off in the bath water anyway.

"Hey, Parnetti," Ian asked his assistant, "I think Brittany could use some warmer, fresher water in her bath. Could you please take care of that?"

"Sure, Boss." Giorgio complied.

As he drew another fresh bath for Brittany, Jeanette whispered to Eleanor, "OK, Ellie, I can't see what's going on over there, since my glasses are still by the sink. I can hear that she stopped crying by now, but I can't tell if it's because she's fallen unconscious. Can you tell how Brittany is doing from here?"

Eleanor perked up after hearing her new "mission". She peered through the bars of the cage to get a better view. "Well, Ian still has her pinned down on her back on the counter... Oh, now they are giving her a bath, and I can't see her, since she's in the sink... But her eyes were open and blinking a little, so I think she's still conscious."

"Ohhh..." Jeanette whimpered worriedly.

For a while, they could hear Ian and Giorgio talking tenderly to Brittany, but they couldn't see or hear Brittany herself. They came to the conclusion that Brittany had fallen asleep or passed out by the time they set her on a towel to dry her.

"Here, Boss," Giorgio handed Ian his phone and opened it to his photos. "Here are the pics I took earlier of Alvin, if you wanna look through them for an estimate on how much we could get for them on the black market. And if you like, I can add some of Brittany to the collection later tonight."

Ian browsed through the photos. "Not bad, Parnetti! As I said earlier, you're definitely getting a bonus check for this. Whoa! That bratty-ratty Alvin is sure out cold in some of these pics. If it were up to me, I would've stuffed him into the bottom of the bag so that he would suffocate, and then I would've taken the dead body to a taxidermist to have him stuffed. I bet he'd be worth millions on the black market."

Giorgio continued to dry Brittany off with a towel and a hair-dryer. "Whoa, Boss, you must still be pretty mad at him! Remember that all of these little chipmunks are probably worth more alive than dead. Besides, the Chipettes are already making more than the money you lost when the Chipmunks left you."

Ian sighed. "Yeah, sorry, it's been a long and rough day. I guess I'll turn in for the night."

"Night, Mister Hawke." Giorgio nodded to him as Ian left the kitchen with a brief wave. He dressed a sleepy Brittany in the nightie before cradling her in his left arm, as he had done earlier that day with Alvin. Placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, he smiled down at her as he carried her to his bedroom. "Don't worry, the effects of the medication should wear off by morning. You can go back to school, then. In the meantime, Li'l Princess, feel free to enjoy some sweet dreams about your new little boyfriend while you cuddle with me. OK?"

* * *

 **A/N:** Giorgio sure is a totally different person around Ian than when he's around Alvin and/or Brittany! Ian called Brittany his "superstar" in "The Squeakquel", which is also where he gave Eleanor a hard time - more about being short than about her chubbiness (the platform sandals), but he had some of that in there, too (when she got stuck in the mail slot and he told her to "lay off the nuts"). Once again, Giorgio (and Ian this time) use the controlled-drug alprazolam (Xanax) to induce sleep. (Shame on them!)


	10. Shhh

**Chip-ergarten**

 **About This Story:** The Chipmunks start Kindgarten and meet some mysterious new friends, the Chipettes. Some similarities may overlap with "The Squeakquel", only they are in Kindergarten. Warning: some chapters contain some harsher adult(-ish) themes, even though age-wise they are 5. I don't own any part of the Chipmunk franchise, just borrowing them from Nickelodeon, Janice Karman,  & Ross Bagdasarian, their family, & their company.

 **About This Chapter:** Rated PG-13, for mentions of events that happened in Chapters 7 and 9, regarding child abuse, drugs, pornographic photos, as well as child abuse (some of it of a sexual nature).

 **Pairings:** Alvin/Brittany, Simon/Jeanette, Theodore/Eleanor

* * *

 **10\. Shhh...**

The next day at school was a library day for the Kindergarten class. After their orientation to the school library, as well as the tour, the kids broke off in pairs to practice reading aloud in partners. They were also working on practicing their "library voices", which were supposed to be even quieter than their normal "inside voices".

Simon was partnered with Theodore, and the two of them found a spot together in one corner behind several rows of bookshelves. Once they reached this chosen spot, they realized that it had already been claimed by another pair of their classmates - Jeanette and Eleanor.

"Do you mind if we share this corner with you girls?" Simon whispered.

"Not at all." They managed to smile as they shook their heads in unison, and motioned to an empty spot on the floor. They tried to immerse themselves back in the book, but red-eyed Eleanor kept nodding off, and Jeanette seemed skittish, twitching nervously every time she saw movement as she clutched her knees to her chest.

As Simon opened the book to start reading, Theodore asked with concern, "Are you girls OK, by the way? I'm sorry we haven't really had a chance to talk to you today."

"Come to think of it, both of you have seemed more sad and scared than usual." Simon placed a comforting hand on Jeanette's right shoulder. She seemed to flinch at first at his touch, but finally managed to look him in the eye, remembering that he was a friend. Simon continued, "And I apologize if I'm not as good at reading emotional cues as Theodore, but I do care, and I want to help in any way I can."

"Oh, thank you, Simon." She managed a weak smile, despite her red and puffy eyes, as though she spent most of the morning crying.

"Heyyyy!" Alvin jumped with excitement as he rounded the corner, almost breaking the rule about using his "library voice".

"Shhh! Keep it down, Alvin." Brittany slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Sorry." Alvin shrugged as he sat down next to Theodore, completing the third side of a triangle. "Whaddaya know? I guess we can just call this the 'Chipmunk Corner'!" He clapped quietly to himself, still oblivious to the depression that permeated the rest of the group.

"Excuse me a moment, Alvin." Brittany set their book in front of him. "First thing's first." Before sitting down at the empty spot to Alvin's right, she stepped over the open book in front of her sisters and pulled both of them into a hug. "I missed both of you last night, and I'm sorry I didn't get a good chance to hug either of you or show you any love at home."

Jeanette and Eleanor sandwich-hugged her for a few moments, letting the tears freely flow. The sisters exchanged some kisses and some I-love-you's as they continued to quietly cry and hold each other.

Alvin glanced at Theodore. "What's going on? Did I miss something?"

Theodore explained in a whisper, "Before you and Brittany got here, Eleanor and Jeanette seemed upset and scared about something. We just asked them what was wrong, but you got here right before they could tell us anything."

"Oh, now I feel kinda bad..." Alvin sighed.

"Don't be," Simon smiled at him. "I think you and Brittany got here just in time."

Brittany finally stood up and stepped over to rejoin Alvin. "Sorry about that, Alvin, but I love my sisters, and I don't get enough time to show it at home. Especially since last night was pretty rough for all of us, and we had to spend it apart from each other."

"Really?" Alvin asked with concern. "Did someone spend the night in the Punishment Cage?"

Jeanette and Eleanor raised their hands as Jeanette went on to explain, "We both got in trouble because of the note Ms Garcia wrote to Ian about Eleanor's empty lunchbox. And Brittany and I even _told_ him that none of us told a teacher, but that another student noticed and told the teacher."

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Simon took Jeanette's right hand and gently held it in his left hand. "I didn't realize you would still get in trouble because I told Ms Garcia. I feel terrible now."

Jeanette reassured him, "I hold nothing against you, Simon. I'm kinda glad you told Ms Garcia. I mean, Ian was probably _planning_ on throwing Ellie and me in the Punishment Cage anyway, after tearing a patch of fur off our tails." She and Eleanor motioned to the fresh scabs in the middle of their tails.

The brothers winced in sympathy as Simon explained, "Yeah, he used to do the same to us. Let me guess...without glasses?" He pointed to Jeanette, while her eyes grew wide and she nodded. He pointed to Eleanor. "...and without supper?"

"Yep." Eleanor patted her growling stomach, then continued. "Well, both of us went without supper. And we both had to air dry after our bath in the sink, which was kinda cold, of course we were also still naked at this point, too."

"And where was Brittany during this time?" Simon asked. "Oh, wait... Did you have to spend the night with that creep Giorgio?"

"I guess," Brittany blinked. "But I wouldn't call him a creep, he's nicer to all of us than Ian."

"What do you mean you 'guess'?" Simon asked. "How could you _not_ know?"

"And we all have plenty of good reasons to feel creeped out by Giorgio." Theodore added as he, Simon, Jeanette, and Eleanor all nodded in agreement.

Jeanette chimed in, "She may not remember, since she was drugged last night before her bath. I heard Ian ask Giorgio for the 'other half of the tablet of Xanax' that he said he gave Alvin earlier that afternoon in the 'little boys' room' before taking some dirty pictures of him and taking his underwear, you know, before he took Brittany home from the nurse's office."

At this revelation, Simon and Theodore looked at Alvin in complete shock - wide-eyes and dropped-open jaws. Simon finally stated, "Well, this _does_ explain a lot. Giorgio gave you _Xanax_?...! And _he_ took your underwear?...! _And_ he took dirty pictures of you?...! After all this, you _still_ don't think he's a perverted creep?"

Alvin bit his lip and looked down at the floor in total shame. He felt like Simon was accusing him of being an international terrorist or a serial killer. He wanted nothing more than to vanish into thin air.

Before Alvin could start crying, he felt Theodore's hand placed on top of his left hand. "Alvin, you know we should tell Dave about this. He loves you, and he was worried about you last night. I can't believe you didn't even tell Simon and me! Well, you were so out of it, and practically sleep-walking, so you weren't much of a talker last night. Was keeping this secret stressing you out so much that it caused you to wet the bed last night?"

"Theodore!..." A red-faced Alvin shot his little brother a glare as he nudged him to be quiet.

Brittany squeezed Alvin's right hand. "Don't be embarrassed about bed-wetting around us. I mean, one or all three of us usually has that problem every night, either from Uncle Ian yelling at us..."

"...Or Uncle Giorgio handling us down there, which makes us feel so dirty." Eleanor shuddered as Jeanette nodded with her in agreement. She gently nudged Brittany. "And _you_ don't see why the rest of us feel creeped out by him? Even after he made you wear a skimpy nightie, took some dirty pictures of you, and practically made you his 'love-slave' last night?"

Brittany's face grew red, and she glanced over at Jeanette with her mouth agape.

Jeanette just shrugged and said, "Hey, I may have been blind last night without my glasses, but my senses of hearing and smell were heightened. I could hear _everything_."

"Oh, ladies, would you please excuse us for a few moments, I need to have a quick conference with my brothers." Simon stood up, taking Alvin and Theodore gently by their arms.

The three brothers huddled a few feet away from the girls.

"What?...!" Alvin sounded angry and annoyed, at first thinking he was in trouble.

"Sorry, guys..." Simon sighed, "I can't just sit around and do nothing while these girls are getting abused. They're our friends! But I'm afraid they'll just get in trouble or abused even more if I tell anyone. I had hoped that Ian would have changed for the better, but it looks like he hasn't - and neither has Giorgio."

"Yeah, Giorgio even hurt Alvin yesterday." Theodore looked like he wanted to cry as he glanced sympathetically at his brother. "I don't want to think he or Ian could be hurting the girls in the same way that he hurt our brother."

Alvin tried to shrug off the concern with a roll of his eyes. "Well...I wouldn't say he actually _hurt_ me. I mean, it didn't hurt at all, it kinda felt good. Dave doesn't even touch me like that." Without thinking, he held his left hand over the fly of his shorts and started smiling at the memory of his Uncle Gi-gi's caresses.

Simon snapped him out of his trance-like state by taking hold of his left elbow. "Alvin, believe us when we say that he hurt you. It may not have hurt in the physical sense, but it damaged you...big time."

Alvin bit his lip as he glanced at Simon, while Theodore nodded enthusiastically with wide eyes. "Uh...I don't know what to say, guys." Alvin hung his head in shame. "I'm sorry..." A few tears started rolling down his cheeks.

"It's not your fault, Alvin." Theodore hugged him. "We hold nothing against you for this. But how do you feel now, knowing that Ian and Giorgio may be hurting the girls, or treating them in the same way he treated you? I don't know about you, but I feel like we should fight for them somehow - and you know I'm not the violent, fighting-type."

"I agree, Theodore." Simon nodded. "I'm also not into physical violence. But for some reason, I feel a strong desire - maybe even a deep-rooted _need_ \- to protect these girls from harm. It's gotta be some kinda primal male instinct or something. But I want to provide some kind of safe haven for them, even though we've only known them for a few days. I already consider them more than just our friends - they're part of our lives and part of our family now. Any ideas on what we should do about this?"

Alvin took a deep breath as he went into more of a "fight mode". He glanced at his brothers with a determined expression. "I know it's only Wednesday, but I think we should invite the girls over to our place for a sleepover this weekend. I know they'll be safe there, but I just hope they'll be safe enough until then, since Dave may not let us have a sleepover before the weekend. It's not a perfect plan, but it may be a start."

"Hmm..." Simon thought for a moment. "I like that idea, Alvin."

"Me too!" Theodore nodded. "Let's ask the girls!"

"Aaaaand break!" Alvin placed his right hand in the air at shoulder-level but raised it as he spoke as if ending a huddle for a sports team.

The brothers returned to the corner where the girls were sitting, noticing that Eleanor had nodded off to sleep again between her two older sisters. She woke up when the boys sat down on the floor to face the girls.

"We still didn't get much reading done." Jeanette shrugged.

Brittany shook her head. "Did you guys have a good 'huddle', or 'conference', or whatever you called it?"

"We sure did." Simon smiled. "We came up with the idea - well, it was Alvin's idea..." He smiled over at Alvin. "...anyway, how would you girls like to have a sleepover at our place this weekend?"

The girls exchanged glances with lit-up faces. Brittany smiled. "Sounds great! How can we get Ian to agree to it?"

"Well," Simon explained. "Let me clarify something - don't tell them that you're sleeping over with the Chipmunks, or the Sevilles. Instead, tell them the name of some other girl in our class. But it will be our secret that you're at our house."

"OK, Ms Garcia's Kindergarten class, it's time to line up!" A voice interrupted from somewhere else in the middle of the library.

Jeanette smiled back at Simon as the six chipmunk children stood up, "We're in, and hopefully we can talk more about this at lunch."

* * *

That day at lunch was the first time that all six of the chipmunks sat together. Theodore, Eleanor, and Brittany were seated on one side of the kiddie picnic table, with Alvin across from Brittany, with Simon to his left, and Jeanette to his left.

Eleanor opened her lunchbox and motioned to its contents. "Well, this is sort of an improvement." In one hand she held up a plastic baggie with a single stick of celery in it, and in the other hand was a juice box of sugar-free vegetable juice. She giggled about it, so the others knew it was OK to laugh about it with her.

"No problem, I've still got plenty to share with you." Theodore shrugged.

"Thanks, Theodore, you've been great." She smiled at him, setting down her lunch and pulling out a hand-written note that was also in her lunchbox. "What's this?" She stared at it for a few seconds before giving up on it. "Ugh, I'm not sure what this says. The words are kinda long and scribbled for me. But I can tell Uncle Ian wrote it, and that he wasn't in a good mood when he scribbled it out."

"I'll try to see if I can still read Ian's chicken-scratch handwriting." Simon volunteered with his palm outstretched. Eleanor handed him the note and he began to read it out loud. " _Well, here's something for your lunchbox. Eat your vegetables and lose weight, Fatty! PS - Don't eat this note, or do, I don't care. Maybe the fiber in it will slim you, or you'll choke on it. Either way, have a nice day!_ ...With a creepy-looking smiley-face at the end." He cringed, along with the others.

"Ouch!" Alvin looked sympathetically over at Eleanor to see if she was OK.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Eleanor." Simon apologized. "I realize I should have read that to myself first and filtered it. At least Jeanette would've been more sensitive about reading a harsh note like that. I just want to say that I don't agree with Ian at all about that, and it was mean of him to say that. I mean, I like all of you girls the way you are." He looked over at Eleanor.

Eleanor patted his hand and started laughing. "Oh, Simon, it's OK. I actually appreciate your blunt honesty in delivering that message. I know it was from Ian, and not from you. Plus, it's not like I don't know by now how Ian _really_ feels about me."

Alvin snatched the note from his brother at that moment and added, "Well, here's what I think about Ian and his stupid note." He then proceeded to blow his nose on the piece of paper, while the others laughed. Rubbing his nose afterward, he added, "Oww...it's not soft enough to be used as a Kleenex. Good thing I didn't try to use it as toilet paper!" The others continued to laugh.

"Thanks, Alvin, that really makes my day!" Eleanor smiled at him. She looked back at Theodore. "As well as sharing lunch with you for three days in a row. Thank you so much for sharing with me. Sorry if I've been a burden."

"You could never be a burden to me, Eleanor." He smiled at her. "I can't eat all of this by myself. Or, maybe I _can_ , but I really don't think I _should_. You know, if I could read when we lived with Ian, I know he would've written notes like that to me, too. I know by now to ask Dave to pack extra lunch for me so I can share. Besides, sharing a meal with friends is the best way to split the calories!" The others laughed along with him.

Jeanette pointed out, "Theodore's right about that. I've read some health studies that found it was actually better to eat junk food with friends and family than to eat broccoli and other healthy food by yourself."

Simon perked up, "Wow, I think I read that article, too..."

The moment was interrupted by Ms Garcia's approaching footsteps. She stopped behind Eleanor. "Well, Eleanor, did your guardian give you some lunch today, since I gave him that note yesterday?"

Eleanor nodded, "Uh, yes. Thank you for the note, Ms Garcia. He actually put something in my lunchbox today."

"Was it anything you could actually eat or drink?" Ms Garcia asked. "What did he give you? And where is it?"

"We already ate it." Theodore added. "We put our lunches together and shared them, sort-of family-style."

"But here's the juice box he gave me." Eleanor held up the nearly-empty vegetable juice and the baggie that once contained the stick of celery. "And this was the celery he gave me, but as you can see, it's gone now."

Ms Garcia patted Theodore and Eleanor on their backs. "Thank you for sharing your lunch again today, Theodore. Tell your daddy that it's very generous of him to make extra so you can share." She glanced over at Eleanor, "And, Eleanor, I'm glad you are able to find something to eat. But if Theodore ever can't make it to school to share lunch with you, I want you to come tell me, so I can find something for you to eat. It's not good for you to go hungry. You're growing mind and body need fuel in order to work properly, you know."

"Yes, ma'am, thank you again." Eleanor smiled up at her teacher.

Before Ms Garcia left, she asked the others, "How about the rest of you? Are you doing OK? I know I haven't gotten much of a chance to visit with you today. And some of you seemed a little upset earlier this morning. But is everything OK?"

The six of them looked at each other before nodding and smiling. Simon explained, "I think we're doing a lot better now, thank you for asking."

"Sure." Ms Garcia smiled at them. "And if there's anything else we can help you with, please let us know. You can also talk to Nurse Stephens, Principal Matthews, or Counselor Jones. OK?"

The six chipmunks replied after her with a chorus of "OK." And "Thank you, Ms Garcia."

Once the six of them were alone, Simon glanced at the others. "OK, next order of business...so when we go home today, my brothers and I will ask Dave if it's OK to have three friends sleepover this weekend. To be honest, we still haven't told him that we made friends with some girl chipmunks. We thought we should wait until we knew each other better, but we can still let him find out when you meet him - hopefully this weekend."

Brittany chuckled. "I like thinking of it as our own secret we still keep from Ian. We still haven't told him we've made friends with you guys yet. Well, Giorgio knows from yesterday, but he's not telling Ian. Our concert is still two more weekends away from this coming one. I'm sure I could ask Ian if we could sleepover at the home of some girl in our class. He usually won't say no to me."

Alvin's eyes went wide with concern. "Well, Brittany, don't feel like you owe him or Uncle Giorgio any nasty 'favors' or anything."

Brittany patted his hand. "Thanks, Alvin. I appreciate your concern, but I still find it weird that you are OK with Uncle Giorgio drugging you and taking your underwear to sell on the black market, while you seem to have a problem with him doing the same kinda stuff to me."

"That's what we said!" Simon and Theodore simultaneously noted.

"And I said I was sorry about that, guys." Alvin angrily spat at his brothers. He turned back to Brittany and sighed. "Sorry you had to see that. Do you think Ian will let you sleepover - at the home of some girl in our class, of course..." He added a wink. "If you took him more of my underwear to sell on the black market?"

"Well..." Brittany stammered as she considered his proposition.

As Alvin stood up to go to the restroom to remove his boxers, Simon spoke up. "Wait! Hold on a minute, Alvin. What's Dave gonna say when he sees that you've come home after going commando two days in a row? Especially with your little 'accident' in your bed last night? He'll put you back in diapers for sure!"

"I see your point..." Alvin sighed as he sat back down, moving his tail aside as he did so. He then had an idea after looking at his tail. He started tugging on a handful of fur from it.

"What are you doing?" Brittany giggled as she watched him.

Alvin looked back at her and explained, "I thought maybe Ian could sell a clump of fur from my tail on the black market - a small price to pay to let you girls sleepover. But I'm not good at pulling it out by myself, it hurts too much. Will one of you do it for me?"

Brittany giggled again. "That's sweet of you. But I have some scissors back in the classroom. I could just cut some off for you later. I cut my sisters' hair all the time."

Eleanor shook her empty juice box and could hear some liquid shaking around in it. "And there may be a bit of vegetable juice left in here that we could use to look like blood. We just need to make it _look_ like the fur was ripped from your tail. You could also keep it in this baggie that Ian used to keep the celery stick. Hey, I do believe in recycling!"

"Great idea, girls!" Alvin smiled. "It was getting too hard to tear it off anyway. And if I went commando again, Dave would be bound to lecture me about how my 'private parts will get chafed' or something like that."

"Speaking of which..." Theodore began, "Alvin, you _really_ should talk to Dave about what Giorgio did to you yesterday."

Jeanette added, "Or you can tell Ms Garcia, or Nurse Stephens, or Principal Matthews, or Counselor Jones. But please tell someone, and don't try to keep it to yourself."

Alvin shot her a sarcastic look. "I'll tell someone when _you_ tell someone about everything you _heard_ Ian and Giorgio do to Brittany last night..."

Jeanette sighed, "I know, I'm being a hypocrite."

Simon glared at his brother. "Alvin, quit picking on Jeanette. She already feels bad enough about all this. But she's right that you shouldn't keep that sort of thing a secret forever. I mean, we can at least wait until introducing Dave to the girls."

"Sorry, Jeanette." Alvin sincerely apologized to her. "I didn't mean to add more insult to injury."

"We're cool now, Alvin." Jeanette smiled at him.

"Here's the deal, Bro..." Simon patted Alvin on his left shoulder. "Even though I don't believe in lying, Theodore and I will be happy to cover for you at home and let _you_ tell Dave on your own time."

"Really?" Alvin's eyes lit up. "You guys won't tell Dave?"

Theodore shook his head. "Nope."

Simon added with another brotherly pat to Alvin's shoulder, "We won't, but maybe sometime this weekend, after Dave hopefully meets the girls, _you_ should tell him yourself."

* * *

 **A/N:** Poor Alvin (and Brittany)! They feel ashamed of what happened to them (or that they were too blind to see what was happening to themselves and their siblings) when it wasn't their fault. (Some countries and cultures do still blame the victim for such crimes, but I hope and pray they will wake up and realize otherwise.) Maybe this will be comforting to other victims of similar crimes.

The study about how it's better to eat junk food with family and friends than to eat broccoli or healthy food alone is something that I heard from my mom, who heard it from some kind of women's Bible study she attended (either a Beth Moore or Priscilla Shirer video-based study). Since I'm hearing it from further down the line, I don't know the original source. But of course if anyone is reading health studies and medical journal articles by Kindergarten, it would be Simon and Jeanette.

I got the idea for Alvin trying to tear out some of his tail fur to give to Ian to sell on the black market from an old storyline that my class used as a "chapel program" (at a Christian school). It may have been 5th grade (?), but we would each stand up and read out part of a story that was on our own posters (like the blown-up pages of a book). I don't remember the name of this particular story, but it was about a squirrel that some mole took advantage of by gradually tearing clumps of fur from the squirrel's tail every day in order to make his nest soft. Toward the end of the story, the squirrel just had a skimpy, bare tail left and had to learn to say no to the mole taking advantage of him. (In some ways, it brings to mind the Nick cartoon episode "The Orb", where Theodore learns to say no.) The chapel program may have been some kind of lesson in standing up for yourself or others. I think the squirrel may have eventually had help from some other animal (possibly a chipmunk?-Go figure!) to stand up to the mole.

If any of the girls might have a tomboyish sense of humor when it comes to things like (fake) blood, it would be Eleanor. And she (and Jeanette) have a "green streak" when it comes to saving the planet (like in Nick episodes "Going Green", "She's Got Style", and "Secret Admirer").


	11. New Friends

**Chip-ergarten**

 **About This Story:** The Chipmunks start Kindgarten and meet some mysterious new friends, the Chipettes. Some similarities may overlap with "The Squeakquel", only they are in Kindergarten. Warning: some chapters contain some harsher adult(-ish) themes, even though age-wise they are 5. I don't own any part of the Chipmunk franchise, just borrowing them from Nickelodeon, Janice Karman,  & Ross Bagdasarian, their family, & their company.

 **About This Chapter:** Rated PG, (hopefully much lighter-hearted than some of the previous chapters) for a conversation involving underwear (both male and female).

 **Pairings:** Alvin/Brittany

* * *

 **11\. New Friends**

"So, what do you wanna do for recess today?" Alvin smiled at his new friend, Brittany. "Would you like to play together?"

She chuckled as she watched her sisters go off and play with Alvin's brothers. Eleanor was again on the swings with Theodore, and Jeanette went with Simon to the seesaw. "Sure! You seem like a fun kinda guy. I'd like to do something with you - but please nothing that gets either or both of us sent to the nurse's office." They both shared a laugh.

"How about the slide?" Alvin suggested. "I haven't been on the slide yet."

"Me neither." Brittany smiled. "Sounds fun-but-harmless enough - famous last words, right?" They both shared another laugh.

"How are your scrapes and your headache from yesterday?" Alvin asked with concern. "I know we've been talking about...well, all the other stuff going on with you guys last night, and the idea of the sleepover, that I didn't get to ask about your ' _oww-ies_ '."

Brittany shrugged and pushed back her left sleeve to show the bandage on her elbow, then lifted the hem of her skirt to show the other bandage on her left knee. "At least my head no longer hurts, and these don't hurt as much anymore. It only hurts if I move enough to make the bandages squeeze. But thanks for asking. How about your knee? And was it your shoulder?"

Alvin pulled up the right pant leg of his shorts to show her the bandage. "Like yours, it only hurts if I move enough to make the bandage squeeze or rub on the scrape. I think my shoulder still has a bruise on it about this big." He held up his hand, using his thumb and index finger to demonstrate an area the size of a nickel. "It looks kinda blue in color, but it doesn't hurt much anymore. Thanks for asking, though."

"Yo, Alvin, my man!" Derek ran up to him, with Ryan and Xander right behind him. He tossed a playground ball to Alvin, who caught it with less enthusiasm than the previous two days. "You're on my team today!"

Alvin perked up at this. He liked playing these rough sports with the big boys. But a sideways glance to Brittany reminded him that he already made plans with her. "Thanks for the offer, Derek, but today I'm gonna pass." He tossed the ball back to Derek. "But if you need an extra guy, I think Cheesy, or Kevin, or Jeremy might wanna play today. You might ask one of them."

"Awww, why not, Alvin?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, what's up?" Xander added.

"Sorry, guys." Alvin shrugged. "I've gotta sit this one out today because of my injury yesterday." He smiled, taking hold of Brittany's left hand with his right hand. "Besides, I already made plans to play with Brittany on the slide."

"Ewww!" Xander gagged. "You're playing with a _girl_?...!"

"You'll get girl cooties!" Ryan shuddered.

Derek looked shocked. "Hey, man, whatever happened to 'bros before - '?"

Alvin interrupted Derek before he could finish. "You betcha I'm playing with a girl!" He exclaimed proudly. "I'm an 'equal-opportunity buddy' who doesn't discriminate. And with that prejudiced attitude, you guys won't get girlfriends 'til you're really-really old and gray - like twenty."

As the other guys all exchanged looks, rolling their eyes, Derek finally said, "OK, come on, guys, let's go ask Jeremy." Xander and Ryan shrugged and headed off with Derek.

Brittany smiled at Alvin when they left, squeezing his hand. "Thank you, Alvin. That's so sweet of you to stand up for me to those guys, especially when you and I barely know each other."

Alvin shrugged with a smile as the two of them headed toward the slide. "Are you kidding? They're great guys, and I like playing with them, but they're just not Simon and Theodore. My brothers never got me sent to the nurse's office, either. Besides, I'd much rather play with a pretty girl like you - that is, if you don't think it's too forward of me to say that I think you're pretty."

Brittany giggled, covering her mouth with her free right hand. "Not at all, I think it's sweet of you, thanks. I mean, I thought you were cute ever since I saw pictures of you on posters and stuff at Jett Records. But I saw you in person and realized they did not do you justice."

"Really? Thanks!" Alvin giggled.

Once they reached the tower of different sizes and shapes of slides, they realized the steps of the ladder were further apart than they thought.

"Uh...need some help?" Alvin offered her a hand. "You know, since your elbow and knee have bandages."

She accepted his hand with a smile. "OK. Thanks!" When they reached the top, she let out a sigh of relief. "Whew! Climbing sure helps when you're a chipmunk."

"So, which slide do you wanna try first?" Alvin asked her.

"How about this long, straight slide first? It looks like we could go pretty fast." Brittany motioned to the slide nearest to them.

"Sounds good!" Alvin stepped up to the long slide, then looked back at Brittany with another question. "So, how do we do this? We could make a train and go down together?" He sat down at the top. "Wanna be the engine or the caboose?" He pointed in front of and behind himself as he offered the respective choices.

"Hmmm..." Brittany considered the options, before she finally sat down behind him. "I'll be the caboose first. That way, in case it's faster than it looks, I can use your tail as an airbag!"

"Great!" Alvin took hold of her ankles on each side of his hips. "I thought we were _trying_ to stay out of the nurse's office today?" They both laughed. "Oh well, Simon says I'm full of hot air, anyway. Ready? One, two, three - go!"

"WHEEEEE!" They both shrieked together as they went down the long slide. Brittany even held her hands up. They laughed as they came to a stop at the bottom.

Alvin turned around to look at her as he stood up. "Wanna do that again?"

"You bet!" She jumped up with him and they both ran over to climb the ladder again. After they reached the top, she asked him, "Can I try the front this time?"

"Oh, yeah, sure." Alvin scooted back a little to let her sit in front of him. Her tail unintentionally brushed across his arm as she sat down. He giggled out loud.

"What's so funny, Alvin?" She glanced back at him after holding onto his ankles.

"Sorry. Your tail was tickling me. It's so soft and fluffy!" He continued to giggle. "Do you shampoo it? Or use conditioner? Or blow-dry it? How do you get it so soft and fluffy?"

She smiled, mostly because she liked his giggle. "Oh, Ian and Giorgio kinda take care of all that for us."

"Oh, right, right..." Alvin nodded in a more somber tone. "They used to do that for us, too. But I don't wanna think about them right now..." He motioned down the slide. "You're the train's engine. You can count us off whenever you're ready."

"Oh yeah!" Brittany faced forward again. "One, two, three - go!"

"WHEEE!" They shouted with joy as they went down the same slide. This time, Alvin put his hands up.

"Wanna try a different slide next time?" Brittany asked as she popped up.

"I'm up for that!" Alvin jumped up behind her. "How about that slide next to the one we've been doing? You know, the straight, but bumpy one that looks like a roller coaster?"

"That's the one I was thinking!" Brittany started up the ladder a few steps, since she now had the hang of it.

As Alvin started to follow her, he blushed slightly and glanced downward. "Uh, Brittany..." he asked her in a whisper with his free hand shielding his eyes. "You might wanna move to the side of the ladder a little, since I can kinda...see up your skirt. Sorry, and not that I'm _trying_ to look."

"Ohhh..." Brittany took a deep breath, and gathered her skirt in a bunch as she stepped sideways. She pondered how she was supposed to climb the rest of the ladder like this. But soon, Alvin had climbed to the same rung of the ladder where she was. "I see why the other times we took the ladder, we either went up together, or you were a little in front, pulling me up once you reached the top."

"That reminds me of something..." Alvin bit his lip as he thought for a moment. "Oh yeah...yesterday, I was kinda out of it - well, OK, _really_ out of it - that I don't remember what became of your panties that Giorgio gave me. I knew I had them, put them in my pocket, and...they may have gotten put in with the rest of the laundry. I hope they don't need to be on a delicate cycle or anything. I don't know if Dave saw them or not, he didn't say anything about them. Anyways, they were really nice and pretty, which still feels like a weird compliment to give anyone - especially a girl who I didn't even know two days ago." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

Brittany giggled. "Hey, I saw your underwear yesterday, too."

"Oh yeah?" Alvin chuckled nervously. "I guess that's only fair."

"Yeah." Brittany nodded and grinned. "I barely got a glimpse of them during our bath time when Giorgio pulled them out of his man-bag and gave them to Ian. I know we don't like to talk about those guys right now, but I think Ian said he was gonna sell them on the black market or something. That may be where they are now. I may not have gotten a very good look at them - the yellow boxers with the red 'A's' on them?"

"Yeah, that's them." Alvin shrugged.

"Oh." Brittany continued. "Yeah, I thought they were cute!" She giggled.

"Really?" Alvin laughed as he reached the platform at the top of the ladder. "Well, this sure takes our friendship to a whole 'nother level! I mean, I thought your panties were really pretty and all, but it was nothing like seeing them _on_ you the other day - or just now. Seeing them on you was definitely better." He finished with a slight blush as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Brittany giggled and playfully nudged his arm. "Yeah, I liked your boxers. Too bad I never got to see them on you." They shared an awkward laugh. "Which slide did we decide on this time, again?"

"I think it was the roller coaster." Alvin pointed over to the slide.

"Oh yeah!" Brittany joined him at the straight, bumpy slide.

"Want me to be your airbag again?" Alvin chuckled as he sat in front.

"Sure!" Brittany chuckled. "Of course, I thought you were being more of a gentleman than an airbag, so thank you, Alvin."

"Awww! Shucks, Brittany." Alvin giggled as he took hold of her ankles again. He noticed some things at that moment, like how much he liked hearing her call him by name, and how much he enjoyed calling her by name. Not just how "pretty" she looked, but how much fun she was to be around. And when she called him a gentleman for being her "airbag", he also realized he enjoyed protecting her and keeping her safe.

"Oh, Alvin..." Brittany's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Were you gonna count us off again?"

"Oh, right..." Alvin faced forward and counted off for them. "One, two, three - go!"

"WHEEE-EEE-EEE!" They exclaimed together as they bounded over the bumps of the wavy slide surface. Brittany held up her hands again.

As they stood up at the bottom, Alvin glanced back at her. "Again, but with you in front?"

Her eyes widened and she nodded with excitement. So the two chipmunk children did the "roller coaster slide" again, only with Brittany in front. When they went back up the slide tower, they now looked at the last of the slides - the spiral one made of a yellow plastic.

"You know," Brittany commented, "it kinda makes me think of Rapunzel's hair, if it were curly."

Alvin laughed. "Yeah, it's even the color of your hair, or Eleanor's hair. I was gonna say it looks like a giant macaroni noodle." He and Brittany both shared a laugh before he continued, "I bet Theodore would love to try this slide sometime, but he doesn't like heights. I guess that's why God made him so short."

Brittany laid her ponytail against the side of the slide. "Check it out, Alvin, I'm Rapunzel after getting a perm."

"Oh, Britt-punzel, Britt-punzel!" Alvin cried dramatically. "Let down your long hair, so I, your brave knight, Sir Alvin-celot, can rescue you!" He assumed his position in the front of their train, held onto her ankles, and counted off again. However, this slide was not as slippery as the others, so the two of them sort of tumbled down this one. They still had fun and enjoyed it, laughing when they landed.

This time, they got a little bit separated before reaching the bottom. Alvin landed in the sand at the bottom, while Brittany was still sitting on the lower lip of the slide. Alvin held out his arms to her to help, since there was a little more of a gap between the bottom of the slide and the ground. "Fear not, my beautiful Princess Brittany! I have come to rescue you!"

Brittany laughed, accepting his invitation by sliding bridal-style into his awaiting arms. "Oh, thank you, my gallant knight in shining armor, Sir Alvin! You're my hero!"

He carried her for a few steps, just to see what it was like to carry a girl a little smaller than his size - like he had seen heroes carry them in movies whenever performing a rescue. It was kinda fun, and she wasn't much of a burden. He also liked how she held onto his shoulders as he carried her.

"I hope I'm not too heavy for you." Brittany chuckled. "You seem pretty strong, though."

"Not a problem at all!" Alvin shrugged as he placed her on solid ground. "I practice at home all the time when I carry Theodore around and give him piggyback rides. You know, one of the fun things about having a little brother. Do you ever do that with either of your sisters?"

"All the time, actually." Brittany chuckled. "Even though Ian tells Eleanor she's 'too heavy' and he's forcing her on a diet, Jeanette and I can each pick her up and carry her around without any problems. She's _much_ smaller than Ian pretends she is. I'm sure he's just a wimp if he can't pick her up - and he's a meanie for complaining."

"Huh..." Alvin thought for a moment. "She seems smaller than Theo, so I could also probably carry her. Helpful to know, since we may have to help them up the ladder, if we want to invite them to play with us on the noodle-y slide tomorrow."

"I think maybe we should try to master that slide before we invite them to join us." Brittany suggested. "Wanna try it again?"

"Yeah, sure!" Alvin nodded. "I wanted to do the others again because they were so much fun, but that one was harder, so I wanna do that one again just to see if I can get it right."

"Totally." Brittany agreed. "And you can go in front again, since this is more of a 'redo'."

"OK." Alvin gave her a thumbs-up. "Time for 'noodle-y slide', take two." They climbed the ladder together again. For the second time, Brittany pretended she was Princess Rapunzel letting down her hair so that her gallant knight, Sir Alvin, could rescue her. This time, they knew where the bumps were in the slide, so he was able to keep his hold on her ankles, and they could stay together for the entire ride. Alvin could even sit a little longer on the lower lip of the slide with her before he hopped off.

"That ride was much better." He noted. "It still made me a little dizzy, but I liked it better than the first time." He turned around, offering his outstretched arms to her.

She slipped into his arms again, and let him carry her for a little ways. "I'm dizzy, too. But that was a better rescue than last time. And once again, thank you, brave Sir Alvin, for rescuing me!"

This time as Alvin set her down, he wanted to try something he had seen the heroes do when rescuing the damsel in distress in the movies. He grasped her hands in his and knelt on his left knee with his right knee bent in front, since that was his bandaged one. "Oh, my beautiful Princess Brittany, you would make me the luckiest gallant knight in the world, if you would marry me someday. So, will you marry me, Brittany?"

He eyes lit up and she giggled. "Oh, Sir Alvin, I would love to! Yes, Alvin, yes!" She jumped up and down excitedly.

"Really? Yay! We're gonna get married someday!" Alvin squealed. He looked around them, and his gaze fell on a patch of dandelions just a few feet away. Jumping up, he ran over and picked the biggest one and held it out to her. "For you, my Princess Brittany!"

"It's beautiful!" She cried as she accepted it from him as if it were an exquisite engagement ring. As she started to place the stem of it behind her right ear, she paused. "No, wait, that's not right..." She then moved it over behind her left ear. "Much better! Now _that_ says 'I'm taken!'" She put her arms around his neck in a hug.

He returned the hug. When he let go, he asked, "Do you think we're ready to try the noodle-y slide with you in front, yet?"

"Why not?" She shrugged as they climbed the ladder again.

This time when they reached the bottom of the slide, she was in the front, so she hopped off the bottom lip of the slide first. She even turned around and held her outstretched hands to him.

"Seriously?" He raised an eyebrow and giggled.

Brittany shrugged. "I guess I'm curious to know if I _can_ carry you, as easily as you can carry me. Fair warning, I don't know how this will work out, so you might not wanna just jump into my arms, since I don't wanna drop you and have to visit the nurse's office again."

"Good to know..." Alvin nodded.

Brittany re-extended her arms out to him, lowering her voice to try to sound like a heroic guy. Basically, it was her exaggerated impression of Alvin as the knight. "Fear not, my beautiful Princess Alvin, for I, Sir Brittany, am your gallant knight come to rescue you!"

At this, Alvin threw his head back and laughed. When he calmed down, he clasped his hands beside his face and said in a girlish voice, "Oh, thank you, Sir Brittany! You are my hero!" He slowly and cautiously slid into her arms to see if she could carry him bridal-style.

She tested a few steps carrying him. "Huh...not too bad." She muttered aloud in her normal voice. In her more boyish voice, she said as she placed him on the ground, "Here you go, my beautiful Princess Alvin, you are safe now."

Alvin continued in his girlish voice, with his hands again clasped beside his face. "Oh, brave Sir Brittany, you are so strong. Do you work out? You are just my absolute hero!" They both laughed.

The bell rang at that moment, signaling the end of recess. "Aww, man..." both Alvin and Brittany groaned in disappointment.

Alvin cleared his throat to return to his normal voice. "I was having so much fun, I didn't want recess to end today. Wanna do that again tomorrow?"

Brittany went back to her normal voice as well. "Absolutely! I think we're even ready to help Ellie and Theodore if we wanna let them play with us." She clasped his hand as they walked back to the door to line up with the rest of their class. "I had fun today, too! Thanks, Alvin!"

"Oh yeah?" He smiled over at her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Yeah, totally." She smiled back at him. "And please don't take this the wrong way, but the thing where I carried you? Well, it's doable, and that was fun to try, but I kinda liked the other way better, with you carrying me. Sorry if that sounds a little selfish."

"No, I hear ya, there." He nodded in agreement. "It's good to know that you _could_ carry me if you had to. You're like, 'Wonder Woman strong' - or would it be 'Wonder Wo- _munk_ ' in our case?" She giggled as he continued, "I still felt better about carrying you, rather than letting you carry me. I also thought you were a much prettier princess than me. Come to think of it, you were even a prettier _knight_ than me!" They both shared another laugh as they walked hand-in-hand to the line.

* * *

 **A/N:** This chapter takes me back to when I got engaged back in Kindergarten. It was also near a tower with a slide on it, and the next day I wore a yellow rose in my hair (from my family's rose bush), only I don't know if I had it on the "taken" (left) side or not. Ha! My "Kindergarten fiancé" and I still haven't set a wedding date, even 30 years later. Lol! So, happy 30th anniversary of our Kindergarten engagement! (Even if he's married to someone else & they have kids of their own by now, it's cool.)

Derek, Kevin, and Cheesy are from the 2015 Nickelodeon cartoon series; while Ryan, Xander, and Jeremy are from "The Squeakquel". Alvin also stood up for Brittany in the Nick cartoon episode "Brittany The Body-Snatcher". He also admits that he thinks she is pretty in "Double Trouble" and "Secret Admirer".


	12. Given The Green Light

**Chip-ergarten**

 **About This Story:** The Chipmunks start Kindgarten and meet some mysterious new friends, the Chipettes. Some similarities may overlap with "The Squeakquel", only they are in Kindergarten. Warning: some chapters contain some harsher adult(-ish) themes, even though age-wise they are 5. I don't own any part of the Chipmunk franchise, just borrowing them from Nickelodeon, Janice Karman,  & Ross Bagdasarian, their family, & their company.

 **About This Chapter:** Rated PG, for mentions of bed-wetting and fake blood, and a bit of a "Kindergarten romance".

 **Pairings:** Alvin/Brittany, Simon/Jeanette, Theodore/Eleanor

* * *

 **12\. Given The Green Light**

Thursday at lunch, the six chipmunk children sat together again. On one side sat Theodore in the middle, Eleanor on his left, and Alvin on his right. On the other side sat Simon in the middle, with Brittany on his left, and Jeanette on his right, so that Alvin and Brittany were sitting across the table from each other.

The girls seemed happier today, since they got to snuggle together in their own sleeping quarters the previous night, and no one spent the night in the dreaded Punishment Cage. Their "sleeping quarters" were more like a large cardboard box on its side, with some towels used as bedding and blankets. As humiliating as it was to be treated like animals, they were at least glad they got to sleep snuggled together.

Eleanor chuckled as she opened her lunchbox. "Whaddaya know? A stick of celery and some vegetable juice, again!"

Alvin shook his head. "For a music manager, Ian sure has no imagination whatsoever."

Theodore opened his lunchbox. "That's OK, 'cause look what Dave packed for me today - melted cheese sandwich, either three or four different cheeses, I forgot which, with some tomato slices mixed in with them. And a large orange, some trail mix, and a candy bar. All of which you can help me eat, Ellie. Is it OK if I call you 'Ellie'?"

Eleanor's eyes went wide and she felt like she was starting to drool as she looked at the food Theodore was sharing with her. "Wow...I already like your daddy, Dave, even though I haven't met him yet. But, oh, yes, I feel like we've known each other long enough that I'd be perfectly OK with any of you guys calling me 'Ellie', and if it's OK with them, you can even feel free to call my sisters 'Jen' and 'Britt'."

Ms Garcia strolled up to check on Eleanor and see if she had a lunch packed today. "Did you get a lunch today, Eleanor?"

"Oh, yes I did, Ms Garcia, thank you!" Eleanor nodded as she held up the juice box and the baggie with the celery stick. She also motioned to Theodore's lunchbox. "And Theodore and I are sharing again today."

Ms Garcia nodded with a smile and a thumbs-up sign at her students as she left. "Good, as long as you all get something."

"Ellie..." Theodore smiled. "I like it! I'm gonna like calling you 'Ellie'." In a sing-song voice, he sang, " _Hungry, Ellie? We'll fill your belly! Oh, Ellie, Ellie, we'll fill your belly!_ "

"Aww! That is so cute!" Eleanor squealed. "Did you come up with that just now, and by yourself?"

Theodore shrugged modestly, "Yeah."

"Well, I love it!" Eleanor put her right arm around him in a hug. "Thank you, Theodore!"

He returned the hug and continued singing, as he added another verse to his song. " _Oh, sweet Ellie! Rub my belly! Ellie, Ellie, please rub my belly!_ "

Eleanor happily complied with a giggle. As she rubbed Theodore's belly, he rolled over on his back with his head in her lap. They continued to laugh as Theodore pretended to pant and happily bark like a puppy. She stopped for a moment to just admire him laying there in her lap. She patted his belly. "Well, you just put the 'adorable' in 'Theodore-able'!"

He smiled up at her. "Eleanor, you are my best friend in the whole entire world! And I just wanted to tell you that I love you!"

"Oh!" She squealed excitedly. "Theodore, you're _my_ best friend in the whole entire world! I love you too, Theodore!"

Jeanette peered over the table so she could look at both of them. "Hey, do you lovebirds wanna get a room? Or were you guys gonna eat lunch today?"

"Oh, yeah, we should probably eat." Theodore sat up.

"Do you have a shorter nickname that your brothers call you at home?" Eleanor asked him as they split their food and started distributing it between the two of them.

"Well," he thought, "sometimes they call me 'Theo'." He pointed behind him to Alvin. "Sometimes Alvin calls me 'Ted' or 'Teddy-Boy'. But I've always called them Alvin and Simon, but maybe sometimes 'Si'. But I don't think I've ever felt like shortening 'Alvin' to 'Al', it just seemed weird."

"You can call me 'Big-A', if you want." Alvin shrugged. "Sometimes I even call Simon 'Hey, Nerd', or 'Yo, Geek'."

Simon chuckled. "At home, Alvin is mostly just known as 'Trouble'. Or, as Dave likes to call him..." Theodore joined him in yelling "ALVINNN!" They both doubled over and laughed, while Alvin just rolled his eyes at them. The girls all shared in laughing with them.

Brittany stopped giggling to empathetically pat Alvin's hand on the table in front of her. "Oh, you poor thing, Alvin. Are your mean brothers picking on you again?"

Alvin stuck his lip out and pretended to pout. "Yes. It's just my lot in life as the middle brother. People ask 'Why can't you be as mature as Simon?' Or 'Why can't you be as cute as Theodore?' Oh well, the best part about an Oreo cookie is the cream in the middle!"

Brittany laughed. "I hear ya, there." She rolled her eyes. "I'm also in the middle. Jeanette told me that's proof that the world revolves around me."

"I said no such thing, Brittany!" Jeanette spoke up from the other side of Simon. "I think you misunderstood something I said late one night just to get you to go to sleep."

"So, what _did_ you say?" Brittany asked her sister.

"I don't even remember anymore." Jeanette sighed. "But I like the Oreo cookie story that Alvin said. I'm gonna remember that when you start feeling bad about being the middle sister, Britt. Oh wait, why would you feel bad about being the middle sister? You're already Ian and Giorgio's favorite...sorry to bring them up, the day was going so well." She started to look uneasy thinking about Ian and Giorgio, but she perked up. "But back to the story about the Oreo cookie... Alvin, how did you come up with that?"

"Pretty sure I told him that." Theodore interjected. "I'm kicking myself for it a little, since that only went to Alvin's big head."

Alvin laughed. "Yeah, you _did_ tell me that, Theo! I think it was at a time when we snuck into the kitchen to sneak some Oreos out of the cookie jar."

"One of the few times I listened to you and _didn't_ get in trouble." Theodore giggled.

"Right!" Alvin nodded. "We actually got away with that. Oh, my little partner-in-crime!" He and Theodore shared a high five.

"We also had plenty left to share with Simon." Theodore glanced over to Simon, who was smiling and shaking his head. "That reminds me - we should ask Dave to stock up on Oreos for this weekend."

"That's right!" Simon noted. "We asked Dave last night if it would be OK to let three friends sleepover this weekend. He said yes, it's OK if you wanna sleepover."

"Yay!" The Chipettes celebrated at the wonderful news.

Brittany added, "I asked Ian last night, and he's OK with us sleeping over with some other girls in our class at 'Megan Coulter's house'." She added a wink to punctuate her air-quotes.

"Yay!" The brothers all smiled happily.

Simon added, "If you like, you girls can just bring your packed suitcases to school tomorrow, and then just go home with us on the school bus."

"Good deal!" Brittany smiled at Simon before she turned to Alvin. "Oh, and, Alvin, thanks for letting me cut some fur from your tail yesterday. Ian actually seemed to buy the story that it was ripped from your tail as a teamwork effort by all three of us. Eleanor also did a good job with the dirt and the vegetable juice in making it look bloody at one end."

"Good thing he didn't do any genetic testing on that!" Jeanette pointed out. "I'm glad he just took our word for it."

"What's he trying to do with that kinda stuff from us?" Simon asked. "Clone us and make a theme park? ' _Chip-assic Park_ '?

"Oooh, scary!" Alvin giggled as he waved his fingers around in the air. "The Chipmunk clones might get loose and eat everyone!"

"Or crack them open like nuts!" Simon gasped. "Or store people like they're hoarding nuts for the winter."

Alvin scoffed. "Simon, that's what squirrels do."

"Chipmunks do that, too." Simon sighed. "And we're no exception. You and Theo just do it with cookies instead of nuts."

"Whatever, Si." Alvin rolled his eyes and laughed.

"It looks like you're doing that with green grapes right now." Brittany pointed to the container of grapes that Alvin just took out of his lunchbox.

"Oh, these?" Alvin opened the container. "I'm not hoarding these. I planned to share them, since they provide entertainment value as well as nutritional value." He handed a grape to Brittany. "Here, if you toss this in the air, I'll try to catch it in my mouth."

"OK." Brittany shrugged as she threw the grape. This one actually bounced off Alvin's nose and landed on the table, since she overhanded it.

Alvin picked up the grape. "Not bad for a first try, but it's more of a slow and under-handed toss like this." He demonstrated by tossing the grape in front of himself so he could catch it in his mouth.

"Ohhh..." Brittany nodded as she picked another grape off the cluster. "Could I try again?"

"Sure!" Alvin got ready to receive the grape.

This time, Brittany slowly tossed it into the air, and Alvin caught it in his mouth. "Yay! I did it!" She exclaimed as Alvin high-fived her. "Can _you_ try throwing it so I can try catching it in _my_ mouth?"

"Here goes..." Alvin picked another grape and tossed it. This one bounced off Brittany's forehead and onto the table.

"Sorry," Brittany shrugged. "I've just never done this before. How do _you_ do it so well?"

"I've had practice." Alvin admitted. "What kinda helps me is that I try to get my nose under it. Like, when I toss it to myself, I aim for just above my nose. Maybe it'll help if you practice tossing and catching it yourself for a few times."

"Hmm..." Brittany considered his tips. "I think I would at least like to try letting you toss it to me again."

"OK, we'll try again." Alvin tossed the grape into the air. This time, it bounced off Brittany's upper lip and onto the table. "Oh, you almost had it!"

Brittany snapped her finger in disappointment. "I did. I _so_ almost had that. Can we try one more time?"

This time, Brittany actually caught Alvin's tossed grape in her mouth. "Yes!" Alvin threw his arms into the air to celebrate.

"Third time's the charm!" Brittany shared a high-five with Alvin as the others clapped.

"Wow! Dinner _and_ a show!" Eleanor giggled. "Or rather, _lunch_ and a show."

"It's even easier with pieces of popcorn, since they're smaller and lighter than these grapes." Alvin informed her. "That reminds me...I'd better ask Dave to make popcorn this weekend, too. Oh, we'll have so much fun staying up watching movies and munching on popcorn!"

Theodore gently nudged Alvin and whispered to him. "Do you really think Dave is gonna let you stay up late, and have snacks and soft drinks _that_ late at night? Especially since you've been...having a personal problem two nights in a row?"

"Way to be subtle, Theo." Alvin muttered in a whisper. "I'm pretty sure I'll be over _that_ problem this weekend, once the girls are safe at our house, and Dave has met them. Then I can tell Dave about...everything Giorgio did to me, and everything he's been doing to Brittany and her sisters."

"Good." Theodore managed a small smile as he accepted his brother's words. "Just promise me you won't keep that secret forever. Please tell Dave this weekend, Alvin. I don't wanna go off to college with you and Simon, knowing that one of you is still wetting the bed."

"I'll be fine, Teddy-Boy." Alvin rolled his eyes, but still smiled, thankful for his little brother's concern for him. The two of them put an arm around each other's shoulders in a hug.

"Uh, do you guys wanna share anything with the rest of us?" Jeanette asked.

"We're OK." Theodore assured her. "Just making sure that Alvin's gonna be OK this weekend."

"Why wouldn't he be?" Brittany asked with concern.

"Don't worry. It's nothing." Alvin shook his head. "It's just been kinda...stressful for me...you know, keeping certain secrets from Dave. Maybe I'll feel better once I can tell him this weekend, since some things won't make sense to him until after he meets you girls."

Brittany winced. "If it's more bed-wetting, hey, we have that problem too."

" _You_ have that problem, Britt." Eleanor rolled her eyes.

Brittany's face turned red. "Hey! When all three of us huddle together to sleep, it's hard to tell if it's only one of us, or if it's _all_ of us." She crossed her arms in front of her chest and shook her head. Right now, it was at least a good sign that no one was laughing at her, but they all seemed to be looking at her with concern. She finally sighed. "OK, maybe last night it was just me, since I know I had nightmares about Ian yelling at me and Giorgio...well, you get the idea. Maybe I should also tell Dave this weekend, even though I hardly know him. 'Excuse me, Mister Seville, I'm about to sleepover at your house, but before I do, I should probably tell you that I'm a chronic bed-wetter.' Oh, I haven't even met this guy, and he probably won't want me to sleepover now or ever!"

"It's alright, Brittany." Simon patted her back. "Dave is very patient and understanding." Alvin scoffed, so Simon glared over at him for a moment. He then looked back at Brittany. "I'm sure we'll all be able to think of some way we can make everything work out by this weekend. In the meantime, why don't you and Alvin go back to tossing and catching grapes in your mouths?"

"You mean it, Si?" Alvin's face lit up. "You're giving me permission to play with my food?"

Simon chuckled. "Absolutely. In fact, I'm thrilled that Alvin has found someone who likes to play 'grapes' with him, so I don't have to do that."

As the bell rang for recess, Alvin looked around the table. "Oh, by the way, would anyone like to join Brittany and me on the slides? We had so much fun yesterday making a two-person train, and we'd love to try a train with all six of us."

Eleanor's face lit up as she took hold of Theodore's hand. "That sounds like fun!"

"Yeah!" Jeanette smiled up at Simon.

Simon glanced at Theodore, Eleanor, and Jeanette, before nodding back to Alvin. "OK, looks like we're all in!"

* * *

 **A/N:** Theodore was called "Theodore-able" by one of the girls in his class in "The Squeakquel", and Eleanor called him that at the end of "The Road Chip". Isn't it just cute how 5-year-olds don't worry about stuff like, "Is it too soon in the relationship to say I love you?" Or if it's too soon to propose (Alvin and Brittany in the last chapter - hard to tell if they were just playing or if they were serious)? Simon and Theodore doing an impression of Dave screaming "ALVINNN!" was similar to the beginning of "The Squeakquel". The Oreo cookie analogy was from an episode of "Full House", where Jesse and Joey were trying to cheer up Stephanie for her lot as the middle sister. I'm going by the age-order of the Nickelodeon cartoon, where Alvin and Brittany are the middle siblings. "Chip-assic Park" - obviously word-played on "Jurassic Park". The part where Simon and Alvin argue about whether hoarding and storing nuts for the winter is exclusively a squirrel thing or also a chipmunk thing is from "The Road Chip". Alvin tossing grapes into the air and catching them in his mouth was done in "The Squeakquel", as well as various Nick cartoon episodes such as "To Serve And Protect" and "The Sub". And Megan Coulter was just a name picked out of the blue, since most of their friends in the Nick cartoon haven't mentioned their last names yet.


	13. Chipettes Meet Dave

**Chip-ergarten**

 **About This Story:** The Chipmunks start Kindgarten and meet some mysterious new friends, the Chipettes. Some similarities may overlap with "The Squeakquel", only they are in Kindergarten. Warning: some chapters contain some harsher adult(-ish) themes, even though age-wise they are 5. I don't own any part of the Chipmunk franchise, just borrowing them from Nickelodeon, Janice Karman,  & Ross Bagdasarian, their family, & their company.

 **About This Chapter:** Rated PG, for some romantic kid moments, and brief mention of (hallucinogenic) drugs.

 **Pairings:** Alvin/Brittany, Simon/Jeanette, Theodore/Eleanor

* * *

 **13\. Chipettes Meet Dave**

"Here we are at Eighth and Liberty." The school bus driver announced on Friday afternoon as he came to a stop.

"That's all of us!" Simon stood up as he helped carry Jeanette's packed duffle bag. "It sure is nice not having to say goodbye at this point. I'm so glad you girls are getting off here with us."

"Thanks for carrying my bag for me, Simon." Jeanette smiled as she followed him off the bus. "You're such a gentleman." She placed her hand on his arm as she said this.

"Really?" Simon stopped to smile at her for a moment. "You think so?"

"Excuse us, Simon." Theodore called from behind them as he carried Eleanor's small duffle bag while stepping off the bus.

"Oh, right, sorry..." Simon chuckled as he and Jeanette stepped aside.

Brittany and Alvin were right behind the little ones. "Ugh!" Alvin struggled under Brittany's duffle bag, naturally the biggest bag of any of the Chipettes, and it was even bigger than Brittany herself. He set it down on the sidewalk. "Thanks for traveling light, Britt." He said sarcastically. "Whew! I only hope this is your idea of running away from Ian, so I only need to do this once."

Brittany chuckled. "Sorry, Alvin, but I had to pack stuff for my sisters that wouldn't fit in their bags, like Jeanette's books and Eleanor's sewing kit. And of course, my makeup, dress-up stuff, hair stuff, and nail stuff."

"Makeup?" Alvin sighed. "You're five! You don't need makeup, you're naturally beautiful."

"Hey, I may be five, but I don't wanna look six before my time." Brittany shrugged. "Maybe I still want to be mistaken for a three or four-year-old. And, sadly, to look this 'naturally beautiful' still takes me over an hour every morning."

Eleanor and Jeanette winced and nodded in agreement. "Yep, it sure does."

"Sheesh." Alvin sighed.

"How about I carry both of our backpacks for you?" Brittany offered him.

"I can also help carry one end of the bag." Eleanor volunteered. "I mean, I helped Brittany carry it to school, since it's bigger than her."

"Thanks, Eleanor!" Alvin smiled as he lifted an end of the bag onto his head, to carry it like he saw pictures of how people in remote villages carry containers of water. He let Eleanor take the other end of it. "I didn't realize you were so strong. You and Brittany are both 'Wonder Wo-munk strong'. That's awesome!"

"Ha!" Eleanor laughed. "Part of Ian's effort to slim me down has been making me work out and lift stuff. Nice to know it's at least good for something."

Theodore walked next to her. With his right hand he carried her bag, but with his free left hand he held onto her free right hand, as she used her left hand to steady Brittany's bag on her head. "I can't wait to let Dave meet you, Ellie. He's gonna love you!"

"I sure hope so, since I look forward to watching him cook." Eleanor squealed happily. "I've enjoyed his cooking so much this past week, and I've always wanted to meet him. Maybe he'll even let me cook with him, and teach me some recipes and stuff."

Simon turned to Jeanette. "I know Dave will love you, Jeanette. And you'll love him."

"Really?" Jeanette smiled shyly. "I actually feel nervous about meeting him." She fanned her face with her hands. "I still kinda expect most adult human men to be either like Ian or like Giorgio."

"Oh, not our Dave!" Simon smiled as he placed his right arm around her shoulders. "He's a very loving and kind-hearted dad. He encourages my curious mind, gives lots of hugs and affection, helps me build model planes and stuff, and he spends time having fun with us. He's also great to talk to when anything bothers you, since he's a great listener."

"I sure hope so..." Jeanette sighed nervously. "I still don't know if I'm more nervous or more excited about meeting him."

Alvin smiled over at Brittany, seeing her carry her backpack over her left shoulder and his backpack over her right shoulder. "Oh, Brittany, I'm so excited about letting you meet Dave. He's just the coolest dad ever! I just know you'll love him. And he'll love you!"

Simon opened the front door and led the group into the house. In unison, the three brothers all cried out, "Dave?"

"In here, Fellas!" Dave responded from the kitchen. At first his back was turned to the group as he arranged the afternoon snack trays for the kids on the island in the kitchen. "I've got some healthy snacks ready for you and your friends to share. They can set down their bags at the bottom of the stairs for now, if they want to eat a snack first." He turned around and walked into the living room to see his boys and meet their friends. First, he got a glance of Alvin in the front as he set down Brittany's bag. Dave raised an eyebrow at his son. "Uh, Alvin, is that a _girl's_ bag?"

"It sure is, Dave!" Alvin stated as proudly as he did on Wednesday when telling the big boys that he decided to play with Brittany on the slides. He placed an arm around Brittany, pulling her close. "Dave, meet my new friend, Brittany Chipette. She's awesome, and I'm gonna marry her someday. Brittany, meet my dad, David Seville. He's the awesomest dad ever!"

"Uhh, hi, Brittany, and welcome to our home!" Dave stammered, still trying to get used to seeing a female humanoid chipmunk.

"And, Dave, this is Brittany's big sister, and my new friend, Jeanette." Simon placed an arm around Jeanette's shoulders.

"Welcome, Jeanette!" Dave smiled at her.

"This is their little sister, Eleanor." Theodore took hold of her hand. "She's also been my friend who I shared my lunch with this week. She really likes your cooking, and hopes to see you in action and learn some recipes from you."

Eleanor nodded enthusiastically as Dave smiled at her. "Hi, Eleanor! It's so nice to meet you." He smiled at the entire group. "Wow, my boys didn't even tell me that their friends they invited for the sleepover tonight were girls. They _especially_ didn't say their friends were girl chipmunks. But this is a nice surprise. So, girls, since you're our guests, what would you like to do first? Have a snack? Relax and watch TV? Or have a tour of the house and the yard?"

The girls all exchanged looks as though a telepathic discussion were taking place. "We are kinda hungry right now." Brittany admitted. "Especially Eleanor." Brittany winked over at her little sister, who was nodding at her.

"Sure." Dave motioned for the kids to follow him into the kitchen. Once he looked at the seating arrangement in the kitchen, he turned back to the kids. "Oh, let me just pull up some extra stools and some more thick books, so you can sit as level with the table as possible." After a few minutes of doing that, he looked at the finished project and then looked back at the girls. "Would any of you like any help getting up to your seats?"

"Maybe..." the girls shrugged.

Dave helped the three of them reach their seats, while also ensuring that his boys could safely get to theirs. Dave thought this would be a good time to get to know his company, so he joined them at one end of the island, standing and leaning rather than sitting, so that he could more easily get drink cups for the kids. To his left side was Theodore and Eleanor. At his right was Alvin and Brittany, while Simon and Jeanette sat across from him, with Jeanette sitting near Brittany. "So, to eat, I've got some fruit slices, cheese cubes, and crackers with peanut butter dip. There's also some lemonade to drink. Feel free to help yourselves, or help each other, and you can also ask me for anything else." He started passing around some small paper plates and napkins, as well as some glasses of lemonade. "And you'll also need to remind me of your names for the first few times."

"Don't feel bad if he forgets your names for a while." Simon assured the girls. "It took him a few hours after meeting us to get _our_ names down."

"And I've only gotten older and more forgetful since." Dave admitted as the kids chuckled. "So, you girls are in the same class with my boys?" He saw the girls nod, then realized he would need to try some more open-ended questions to break the ice.

"This is really good!" The littlest girl piped up. "It's so nice to finally meet you, since I've enjoyed your cooking all week."

"Well, Theodore has been reminding me to pack extra, so he can share with a friend." Dave chuckled. "And you must be the friend he's shared lunch with all week. Elena? Wasn't it?"

"Eleanor." She corrected. "But you can call me 'Ellie' for short, if you want."

"Eleanor!" Dave nodded and noted to himself. "And what about your lunch, Eleanor? Do your parents pack one for you?"

"Not for the first two days of school." Eleanor looked a little downcast. "But it's kind of a long story." She glanced over at Theodore as if asking for his permission to tell more. He just smiled reassuringly at her to let her know this was a safe place. She looked back at Dave. "You see, Uncle Ian - my manager, that is - wants me to slim down, so he either sent me to school with an empty lunchbox or packed just a celery stick and a vegetable juice box."

"What?" Dave gave her a puzzled and concerned expression. "Putting a child on a starvation diet? That's not right. And, Eleanor, I think you are perfect the way you are." He paused for a moment. "Wait a minute...did you just say that Uncle Ian is your manager? As in 'Ian Hawke'?" As he saw Eleanor nod, he sighed. "Well, that changes things..." He looked at the other girls. "So, you girls live with Ian Hawke? Where does he live? And how is he doing these days? I haven't seen him or heard anything about him since I got custody of my boys from him. I sure hope he's nicer to you than he was to them!"

"Apparently, he's not, or so we've been told." Brittany shrugged.

"That's one reason we invited the girls over." Simon explained to his father. "We wanted to give them a break from the stress of their home life."

Dave sighed. "Ian never really struck me as the type that was good with kids or enjoyed being around kids. How did he feel about letting you girls sleepover at our house?"

Brittany chuckled. "Well, we knew he'd never let us hang out with the Chipmunks, since he's still mad at them. But we told him we were at the home of some other girl in our class, who was having a slumber party with a bunch of girls. Ian doesn't even know that we're friends with these guys, otherwise he'd be furious and probably lock us in the Punishment Cage all weekend."

Dave rested his forehead on his fingertips for a moment. "Well...Bridget..."

"Brittany." Alvin and Brittany corrected him.

Dave chuckled. "Right, _Brittany_...I sure hope I don't get into any legal trouble over this, since I didn't know you guys lied to Ian. I guess that means tomorrow I'll have to take you back to his place, before he goes to the home of some other girl in your class to pick you up, only to find that you aren't there. Or do I need to drop you off tomorrow at this other girl's home, so that Ian can pick you up from there?"

Brittany looked worried. "Tomorrow? But Uncle Ian told us we had all weekend, and we could wait until catching the afternoon school bus on Monday to go back to him. He said it was OK to stay out all weekend, since our next concert isn't for two more weekends."

"Concert?" Dave looked puzzled. "Oh, right...and if Ian Hawke is your manager, that must mean you girls sing, too?" As he saw the girls nodding around their snack foods and drink cups, he muttered, "The sleepover rules sure have changed since I was a kid... I guess that's good to know that you have the whole weekend with us, and not just tonight. Maybe we could even take turns rehearsing and performing in front of each other? We do plan on getting a few practice sessions in this weekend, so you girls are welcome to practice with us."

"That sounds like fun!" Eleanor smiled. "It's like a free Chipmunks concert!"

Theodore leaned over to her. "Rehearsals are not as glamorous as the actual concerts. They are free, since you get what you pay for."

"Is there a lot of yelling involved?" Eleanor asked with a nervous look on her face.

Theodore shook his head at first, but then paused to clarify for her. "Well, Dave only really yells at Alvin, because he tends to lose focus and he doesn't pay attention the whole time. But he's very encouraging for Simon and me. And he's encouraging to Alvin once he actually pays attention."

Dave chuckled as he ruffled the back of Theodore's head. He let the kids take a few more bites of food before pointing to Jeanette. "You've been quiet. Jenny, wasn't it?"

"Close..." she shrugged shyly. "It's Jeanette."

"Jeanette!" Dave nodded. "Right, I was so close!" He pointed around the table to quiz himself on the girls' names from left to right. "Eleanor...Jeanette...and Brittany?"

"You got it, Dave!" Alvin cheered.

"Yes!" Dave high-fived Alvin to celebrate. Going back right to left, he pointed to the girls again. "Brittany, Jeanette, and Eleanor!" The kids cheered for him as he smiled. "I'm starting to get the hang of this. It's good to know we have all weekend, so I'll definitely get it by then." He turned back to Jeanette. "So, Jeanette, I've noticed you haven't said much. Are you just the shy, quiet one of the group?"

"Kinda." She squeaked.

Dave continued. "But you've apparently performed and sang in front of people before. Is it just different with new people one-on-one? Sorry to put you on the spot like that, I'm just trying to get to know each of you girls."

Jeanette smiled. "I do get nervous when meeting people in person. Luckily my sisters - and Uncle Ian, for that matter - have never asked me to sing a solo. I'm used to being one of Brittany's backup singers with Eleanor." She smiled over at Brittany. "Brittany sings all the lead vocals so I don't have to."

"Oh, so Brittany is the leader of your singing group?" Dave glanced over to Brittany. "Do you do solo work?"

Brittany smiled. "I do occasionally do a solo during an individual _song_ now and then, but I don't think I'd wanna do a solo _career_ , even though Ian tries to get me to do a solo career. I'm pretty close to my sisters, and I like our concerts to be a sister act. We either sing together, or not at all."

Dave chuckled. "I see. So the three of you must be really close?" He saw the nods around the table, like tiny bobble-head dolls. "Oh, did you girls tell me where you live with Ian?"

"He's in a loft apartment downtown." Brittany explained. "A few blocks from Jett Records, but it's at the last stop for the afternoon school bus."

"Oh?" Dave raised an eyebrow. "How long have you lived there?"

"About a...year?" Brittany shot a questioning glance to Jeanette, who nodded at her. "That's at least how long we've lived with Uncle Ian. But we've kinda been touring on the road and overseas for most of that year. Our last concert tour was in Australia and New Zealand, and I think that ended just two weeks before school started. Before that, we were in a bunch of South Pacific and Southeast Asian countries throughout the summer. As fun as that was, it was crazy and tiring. It's kinda nice to have a break from that and be here, so we can go to school and hang out with these nice guys." She smiled around the table at the boy chipmunks.

"Cool!" Alvin chuckled. "We had a European tour this past summer. Dave tries to make sure we get plenty of time for sightseeing in the cities where we perform. Ian wore us out with having us perform in a different city every night, and we got sick from exhaustion. But Dave tries to space out our concerts, so it feels more like a family vacation than work. It's fun!"

"I'm glad you finally appreciate how I do that, Alvin." Dave chuckled as he ruffled the back of Alvin's hair below his hat. "So, Brittany, if you've only been with Ian since you were, what, four years old?" As he saw her nod, he continued his question. "What were you girls doing before that? And who was your manager before Ian?"

Brittany thought for a moment and bit her lip as she looked over at Jeanette. "Well, I honestly don't remember much of life before Uncle Ian. Jeanette says she does, and she has a really sharp memory. But she's so creative and she has such an imagination, that Eleanor and I aren't sure if her memories are of our real life, or if she was just dreaming. Jeanette often confuses her dreams with real life, and she may not actually be sure herself. But her imagination sure makes for some really good bedtime stories for Ellie and me."

Dave chuckled. "Really?" He gently smiled at Jeanette so as not to intimidate her. "What kinds of things _do_ you remember about life before Ian, Jeanette?"

"Well..." Jeanette shrugged awkwardly. "I think I remember living in a small town about fifty miles north of Asheville, North Carolina..." she closed her eyes to envision it better. "I think some people took care of us in a warehouse connected to a lab facility of some sort. Some teenage girl with glasses and short, dark hair babysat us. She would hold us and feed us, and play music for us, and we would sing for her." Jeanette started shaking her head, even shedding a small tear. "I don't remember our chipmunk parents, we must've been very young when we got separated from them. But this girl was kinda like a mother to us in this warehouse. I miss her, whoever she was. I think we just called her 'Mom', or 'Ma', or 'Mama'. I think she named us, both our individual names - Jeanette , Brittany, and Eleanor - and our family name and band name, 'The Chipettes'." When she opened her eyes, the others were all staring at her in amazement.

"Wow." Dave gasped. "My boys don't remember much of their life before meeting me. Of course, they were only two years old at the time."

"Well, I don't know how much of those memories were actually memories of real-life events, and how much were memories of dreams I once had." Jeanette shrugged. "I wish I could remember more about that girl, our 'Ma'. Sometimes I think my vivid dreams get in the way of my memories, since sometimes I even see little pink aliens that look like blobs of chewed gum around the warehouse or lab facility, and sometimes there are robots with the aliens driving them, but most of them are friendly. I know it sounds weird." She giggled. "I don't know how I dream up this kind of stuff."

Simon blinked. "Please don't take this the wrong way, Jeanette. But did Ian ever drug you? Especially with any drugs from any of those other countries you toured?"

She laughed. "I guess that would explain a lot if he did. But I don't know for sure. I've always been a dreamer with strange dreams. In some ways, my dreams are an escape and a refuge from my real life, and I wouldn't trade them for anything."

"I never thought of it that way." Simon shrugged. "It sounds cool when you put it like that."

Dave laughed. "Well, Jeanette, it sounds like you have a very colorful imagination. If I ever get writer's block, it's nice to know I could ask you for help with fresh ideas."

* * *

 **A/N:** Someday, I can just see Alvin with a fancy shirt that says "Husband Of A High-Maintenance Wife" on it. (My dad has one, Lol!)

Brittany says "We sing together, or not at all" in "The Squeakquel", right after Ian tries to talk her into a solo career. I had Australia as the last place for their summer concert tour, since in the 80s cartoon, they were actually from an orphanage in Australia, in the episode "The Chipette Story". I also had the Chipmunks have a European tour, since they were doing one in Paris at the beginning of "The Squeakquel". They also got sick from exhaustion when Ian had them perform at a different city every night in the first 2007 live-action movie.

I projected myself as a kid in Jeanette, having some very colorful and vivid dreams, and a wild imagination, where I often confused some dreams and real-life memories of early childhood. Sometimes I enjoyed telling people (friends & family) about my dreams, for a good laugh, and good entertainment value. My dad often joked that people who have been on hardcore drugs for years don't even have dreams that weird! And Jeanette's early-childhood memories? Some of it was inspired by the "Utroms" from the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" cartoon (both Nickelodeon & the 2k3). (Spoiler alert for a later chapter of my "Munks Meet More Mutants" crossover fanfic.) Also, the teenage girl with the glasses & short, dark hair they called "Ma"? Inspired by the character Irma from the TMNT cartoons. In the current TMNT Nick cartoon, she is an alien in a robot body, but in the 80s cartoon Irma looked like she could be Jeanette's mom, or played by an older version of Jeanette - same hairstyle, same glasses, same outfit (only Irma's skirt was longer).


	14. House Tour

**Chip-ergarten**

 **About This Story:** The Chipmunks start Kindgarten and meet some mysterious new friends, the Chipettes. Some similarities may overlap with "The Squeakquel", only they are in Kindergarten. Warning: some chapters contain some harsher adult(-ish) themes, even though age-wise they are 5. I don't own any part of the Chipmunk franchise, just borrowing them from Nickelodeon, Janice Karman,  & Ross Bagdasarian, their family, & their company.

 **About This Chapter:** Rated PG, for some mention of nudity, gender differences, and bathroom issues, as well as description of an injury.

 **Pairings:** Alvin/Brittany, Simon/Jeanette, Theodore/Eleanor

* * *

 **14\. House Tour**

"Now that you girls are finished with your snacks, how would you like for us to show you around our home?" Dave asked.

The sisters exchanged looks, before Brittany spoke up, "Sure!"

Dave ensured that all six of the chipmunk children could get safely to the floor before he showed them the pantry cabinets where they could always find a snack, if needed. He also pointed out where he kept their cereal bowls and kid-friendly cups in case they got thirsty. "And over here is the dining room, where our family eats together. Sometimes it's just the four of us, but other times we have company, so we make sure there's plenty of room at the table for everyone."

"Is that where we're gonna eat, too?" Eleanor asked.

"Absolutely, since you're our special guests this weekend." Dave smiled before leading them into the living room. "And we watch TV or movies, or the boys play video games in here." Opening a door to a dark, musty room, he pointed out, "This is the basement. We use that for storage and laundry, but we don't really do any activities down there."

Jeanette shuddered and held tight to Simon's arm. "Is that scary place where you get sent if you're bad?"

Simon assured her, "No, he just sends us to our bedroom upstairs if we're in trouble. But sometimes I like to do science experiments and other workshop-type stuff down in the basement. It comes in handy for that, since we don't have a garage. Sometimes Dave works with me down there. Other times I'm OK by myself, when all Dave does is check on me and bring me snacks. It's actually kinda nice and fun down there. I'd love to show you around my workshop area sometime."

"Really?" Jeanette seemed more intrigued than afraid by now. "Gee, Simon, I'd like that, too!"

Opening another door to a small room nearby, Dave said, "And this is the downstairs half-bathroom, in case anyone needs to go while on the ground floor or in the basement. And the basement door locks from the inside, usually in case Simon wants to work alone, without any interruptions. But he can always come up for a bathroom break or a meal break."

Simon whispered to Jeanette, "I mostly lock it so Alvin won't bother me, or mess anything up while I'm working."

She giggled upon hearing his explanation. "Like your own private laboratory!"

Dave pointed out the coat closet before opening some French doors near the front door. "This is my office, where I mostly work on business stuff, and pay the bills. Even though there's not much for you kids to do in there, it's one of the places where you can easily find me, if you need me for any reason." He stepped over to the room with the piano and other musical instruments. "Here is our music room, where we rehearse for upcoming concerts. You girls are welcome to join us, whether you just want to watch us, or if you want to rehearse some while we watch. We can take turns rehearsing and performing for each other. We're a musical family, so we're pretty flexible."

"I like it!" Brittany admired the room.

Alvin leaned over to her. "Maybe we can even serenade you girls sometime in here."

Brittany giggled. "Oh, Alvin, I'd love to watch you rock out on that guitar in person!"

Alvin chuckled, "In that case, Brittany, I look forward to performing for you!"

Dave got the attention of the chipmunk children. "And before we go upstairs, I'd like to show you the backyard and the pool area."

"Cool!" The girls' eyes lit up as they followed Dave to the back door.

Dave pointed past the shallow end of the pool. "We also have a sandbox over there, and the part of the driveway near the house can be used as a basketball court. Sometimes the boys even play soccer in the front yard. Did any of you girls bring swimwear, or pool floaties, or pool toys?"

The girls all shrugged before Brittany explained, "We don't even _own_ anything like that. Our loft apartment doesn't have a pool, but anytime we were traveling and the hotel had a pool or was near a beach, Uncle Ian just told us to swim in our 'birthday suits'. He would also tell us to sleep like that, too, if he couldn't find any nighties for us."

Dave scratched his head, a little concerned that Brittany mentioned "nighties" instead of pajamas. "So, I take it you girls didn't bring pajamas, either?"

"Nope." The Chipettes all shook their heads.

"It's OK, Dave." Alvin cut in, as he secretly thought to himself that this might be his chance to see a girl in the nude. "We _are_ all chipmunks, after all. _I'm_ perfectly OK with letting them sleep and swim in their birthday suits, if that's what they want to do."

Dave glared at his son, knowing his true motive. "Alvinnn..." he muttered, annoyed. After all, if his boys had swim trunks, why shouldn't these girls have swimwear? Dave didn't think his boys were ready to see any nudity of the opposite gender, and he certainly wasn't ready to talk to them about that kind of subject matter. And he knew that the girls had grown up with Ian Hawke, but didn't know what all they had learned from him about gender differences. Dave wasn't sure how they would react to seeing his boys naked. He was barely ready to talk to his own kids about such things, so he certainly wasn't ready to talk to their female friends about it, either! Regaining his composure, he turned toward the girls and offered, "Uh, girls, it's no problem, really. If you might come over more often, maybe I could take you girls shopping for swim and sleepwear, if you'd like to have some to keep at our house for future visits."

"Yay!" Brittany celebrated. "I've always wanted to go shopping." As she jumped around excitedly, the sticky part of the bandage on her left elbow tugged painfully at her fine fur. "Oww!" She grabbed her elbow and winced in pain.

Dave knelt down in front of the girl chipmunk. "What happened, Brittany? I didn't notice that bandage before."

She explained. "Oh, it happened to me on Tuesday, when Alvin saved me from these bigger boys hitting me with their ball at recess. I fell and scraped my elbow and my knee." She lifted the hem of her skirt to show the bandage on her left knee. "Alvin went to the nurse's office with me to get bandages put on them. I also got sent home early that day, since my head started hurting more. That was when we first became friends." She smiled over at Alvin, who smiled back at her.

Dave turned to his middle son, rubbing the back of his head affectionately. "Good job, Alvin!" He turned back to Brittany. "What did Ian say about it when you got home? And what else did he do to take care of it?"

Brittany shrugged. "He didn't say or do anything about it, really. It was his assistant Uncle Giorgio who picked me up, took me home, and let me have a nap that day."

Outside of Dave's field of vision, Simon gently nudged Alvin and motioned to Dave with his eyes as if to remind him of their agreement to tell Dave about Giorgio that weekend. Alvin just nodded at his brother dismissively, as if to say he would take care of it on his own time.

"Oh..." Dave seemed deep in thought. "Ian has an assistant, huh? No one really ever told me much about him..." He turned back to Brittany. "How do your scrapes feel now? Do you know if they're healing? Or if you need any fresh bandages?"

"Well..." Brittany inspected both her elbow and her knee by squeezing the gauze part enough to view the wounds underneath. "This is the same bandage I've worn since Tuesday. Right now, they're both kinda yellow and slimy, real gross - like someone blew their nose into them. But they don't hurt as bad anymore."

Dave felt a mild wave of nausea at her description, but quickly offered, "OK, I think that means it's a good time to clean them and change the bandages, and maybe put more ointment on them. I do have a first aid kit upstairs in my bedroom. Just remind me before we go anywhere."

Brittany smiled. "Oh, thanks, Mister Seville!"

Standing up, Dave winked back at her. "You can call me 'Dave', since that's what my boys call me."

"OK then...Dave." Brittany giggled.

Jeanette whimpered as she gazed out at the water. "It looks so big and scary, especially the deep end. I don't even think any of us really even know how to swim."

Dave knelt next to her, placing a comforting arm around her. "It's OK, Jeanette. If any of you would like to learn, I can show you and help you learn. And you can also hang out in the shallow end, near the steps. I can also get some extra floaties for you girls while getting swimsuits for you. No pressure or anything, I want this weekend to be fun and relaxing for you girls."

Jeanette smiled up at him. "Thanks, Dave!" She felt like she was warming up to him already.

Dave gently stroked her shoulder as he stood up. "Why don't we go back in the house so I can show you girls around upstairs?"

"OK." Jeanette smiled as she and her sisters followed Dave back inside the house.

As Dave passed by the staircase, he picked up the girls' bags and said, "I'll take these up the stairs for you, and show you a good place to keep them." He made sure that the girls could make it up the stairs, and he smiled to himself at the sight of his boys being little gentlemen and helping the girls make it upstairs. "The boys' bedroom is right in here. I guess you girls can keep your bags in here. Did any of you bring sleeping bags, pillows, or blankets?"

"We don't have that kinda stuff." Brittany shrugged.

Jeanette explained, "We normally just sleep inside a cardboard box turned on its side in the living room, and we huddle together on a folded-up towel."

"What?" Dave scratched his head. He looked over at his sons and asked them, "Did _you_ fellas get your own room and your own beds when _you_ lived with Ian?"

"We kinda had a room." Simon rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Since we lived with him when he lived in a mansion. But our beds were more like open cardboard box lids with old towels and blankets stuffed in them. He was afraid we weren't house-trained yet, and that we would wet the bed too often if he let us sleep in a real bed."

"Ohh..." Dave didn't like the idea of anyone treating his boys like animals, even though he knew they weren't one hundred percent human. And it seemed inhumane to treat these girl chipmunks he just met like they were animals. "I guess then I'll just add sleeping bags, pillows, and extra blankets to the shopping list. But if you girls don't mind me asking, what exactly _did_ you bring?"

The girls ran to unzip their individual duffle bags. Dave looked over their shoulders as they started pulling stuff out to show him. It looked like each of them brought two extra dresses to wear, in addition to Eleanor's teddy bear and sewing kit, Jeanette's books, and Brittany's makeup, hair, and nail supplies.

Dave scratched his head again. "So, girls, did you pack your own suitcases, or did Ian help you?"

Brittany shrugged. "Ian didn't help us pack at all. He let us do our own packing."

Eleanor chimed in, "But Uncle Giorgio did help us pick out the outfits."

"That figures." Dave shrugged as he thought to himself out loud. "Let's see...we probably need to add other things to the shopping list, like towels, loofahs, washcloths, bathrobes, toothbrushes, extra toothpaste, socks, underwear, and maybe even some extra play-clothes if they want to play outside..."

"Not to worry, Dave." Simon showed his slightly scatter-brained father a small notepad he had been using. "I've been keeping a written shopping list for you as we've gone along on this tour of the house."

Dave knelt next to him as he picked up the list to take a look at it. "Good job, Simon! Thank you so much for doing that for me." He stroked the back of Simon's head affectionately a few moments before standing up again. "Oh, and girls, there are two other rooms upstairs I need to tell you about."

The kids followed him out of the boys' bedroom to across the hall. He opened the door completely and turned on the light. "This is the kids' bathroom. We've made it scaled to be more user-friendly for either smaller children or humanoid chipmunks."

The three girls peered in curiously. "You're so lucky!" Jeanette smiled at the boys. "You guys actually have a bathtub, so you don't just have to take baths in the kitchen sink."

"And you actually have your own toilet, so you don't have to go in a cat box." Eleanor stated.

"What?" Dave was shocked once again. "Of course, if it makes you more comfortable, I can still set up a cat box. But what do you girls do during the school day?"

Brittany chuckled. "Oh, the public restrooms at school are actually better than the cat box at home. I mean, we can use restrooms scaled for humans, and apparently we've mastered that long before we moved in with Ian. But he insists on treating us like animals who aren't house-trained yet. It's so humiliating!"

Dave glance back at his boys. While Alvin and Theodore looked like they didn't want to talk about it, Simon explained, "Yeah, Ian did the same with us during the time we lived with him."

Alvin shuddered. "It was a dark time in our lives that we would like to forget."

Dave nodded empathetically. "Well, considering the way Ian is with kids in general, he'd probably do the same even if you kids were fully human. I'm so sorry that he's like that. I really don't know what all you kids have been through, but I just hope you feel loved and welcomed here as if you were fully human."

"Really?" Eleanor smiled up at him. "Thanks, Dave! I'm already having a great time with you."

"Me too!" Brittany squealed.

"And you're making me feel so comfortable around you, Dave." Jeanette hugged him around his leg. "I hope we can be good guests for you this weekend, and that you'll want us around more often."

Dave knelt down to pat Jeanette's shoulder. "Oh, I'm already having fun with you girls, and glad that you can stay the entire weekend, not just tonight." He stood up and pointed down the hall towards the door to his bedroom. "And the last room to tell you about is my bedroom, which is down there. Though it isn't really a room where you kids will want to hang out, since the toys are either in the boys' bedroom, the living room, our outside in the backyard, my bedroom is another place where you can find me, if I'm not in the office or the music room. And I also have another bathroom in there. It's not scaled to be chipmunk-friendly like this one, it's still a human bathroom, but it's OK if you kids need to use it."

Theodore smiled and pointed out, "Or if we have nightmares, we can go sleep in Dave's bed with him. He doesn't mind."

"That's right, Theodore!" Dave smiled as he knelt down and stroked the back of Theodore's head. "I leave my door cracked open at night if you kids need me for anything. Sometimes I'll admit I'm still out of it and not fully awake when they come in, but there have been times I've woken up in the morning to see one or all three of my boys cuddled under the covers with me."

"So, Dave, would you mind if the girls join us in cuddling in your bed with you?" Theodore asked his father.

"Not at all." Dave smiled. He ruffled Theodore's bangs one last time before he stood up. "So, does anyone need to go before we go shopping for supplies and clothes the girls will need for this weekend? And afterwards, we could even go out for pizza. Oh, yeah, and we still needed to change Brittany's bandages."

The girls all looked at each other for a moment.

"Oh, I need to go." Eleanor spoke up. She also glanced at Jeanette. "Jeanette, would you mind staying in there with me? I'm not used to being alone for that, especially in someone else's bathroom."

As Jeanette followed her sister into the boys' bathroom, and Dave led Brittany to his bathroom to change her bandages, Alvin leaned over and whispered to Simon, "Is _that_ why girls always go to the bathroom together?"

Simon chuckled. "I can't speak on behalf of the female of the species, or even pretend to understand them, but Theodore and I will be contemplating that great mystery while we use the downstairs bathroom."

"Have fun contemplating that mystery as you wait for someone else to finish so you can use the bathroom, Alvin!" Theodore giggled as he ran downstairs after Simon.

* * *

 **A/N:** Using the cat box reminds me of the Nickelodeon episode "Dog Days", where their neighbor Ms Croner trains Theodore to use the "kitty-box".


	15. First Sleepover

**Chip-ergarten**

 **About This Story:** The Chipmunks start Kindgarten and meet some mysterious new friends, the Chipettes. Some similarities may overlap with "The Squeakquel", only they are in Kindergarten. Warning: some chapters contain some harsher adult(-ish) themes, even though age-wise they are 5. I don't own any part of the Chipmunk franchise, just borrowing them from Nickelodeon, Janice Karman,  & Ross Bagdasarian, their family, & their company.

 **About This Chapter:** Rated PG-13(T), since this chapter does contain some mentions of (female) anatomy and the mentions of child molestation (as the kids finally tell a parental figure about the history of it). But hopefully there is plenty of humor and fluff to balance that out.

 **Pairings:** Alvin/Brittany, Simon/Jeanette, Theodore/Eleanor

* * *

 **15\. First Sleepover**

"I'll let you girls go upstairs and change into your pajamas first, since you're our guests this weekend." Dave paused the cartoon movie playing in the living room to motion to the staircase. "Do you girls need any help getting into your jammies?"

The Chipettes exchanged looks. Brittany was shaking her head, but Jeanette nodded along with Eleanor. "We might, Dave."

"I'll volunteer to help them get dressed." Alvin offered, smiling to himself that he might get another chance to see what female anatomy looked like. "See, Dave, I wanna be a good helper for you, and for our guests!"

Once again, Dave knew his son's true motive. "Alvinnn..." Dave shook his head while chuckling to himself. He ruffled Alvin's hair as he stood up from sitting at his spot on the couch. "Thank you for wanting to be a good helper, but I think you should master getting dressed by yourself before helping anyone else get dressed. Just stay here and enjoy the movie. I'll be right back for you boys next."

Alvin looked slightly disappointed, but just shrugged and went back to watching the movie. He was kinda tired after the shopping spree and full from the pizza, so he didn't feel like arguing any further about it.

Dave grabbed the shopping bag containing the girls' pajamas and underwear as he headed upstairs with them. Once upstairs, he used Theodore's bed to lay out their pajamas for them. The tops were all solid, short-sleeved loose peasant-tops in the girls' favorite colors, with a little satin bow at the neckline in a darker version of the same color. Their pants were floral-printed capris, also in their favorite colors to match the tops, with some ruffles on the bottom, and satin drawstrings to match the bows on the tops. He helped Eleanor and Jeanette get out of their school clothes and into their new undies and pajamas. They had become comfortable enough around Dave by now that they didn't mind him helping them get dressed. Dave was a professional dad by now, so to him it just felt like he had some daughters in addition to his sons. Dressing Eleanor and Jeanette wasn't too much different an experience from dressing Theodore and Simon. Both sets of kids were well-behaved, even helping each other once in a while, and they seemed to appreciate the individual attention from being helped by a parental figure.

When Dave finished dressing them, he turned to Brittany, who attempted to dress herself. She was fairly independent - or she at least pretended to be - much like Alvin. "How are you doing there, Brittany?"

"I think I got it." She replied, but she still wasn't out of her school clothes yet. All she managed to remove were her shoes and socks. She was still searching for the zipper on the back of her plaid jumper.

Dave chuckled. "Here, let me help you with that zipper in the back. I also don't want you to rub too much against your bandages we changed earlier this afternoon."

"Well, OK, Dave." Brittany gave up her struggle and let Dave help her out of her school clothes.

As Dave laid out her pajamas and some new underwear for her, he did a double-take upon seeing the underwear she was currently wearing. He recognized the various shades of pink flowers. "Now, Brittany, this may be a weird question for me to ask you, but on Tuesday when you got the bandages at the nurse's office, at some point that day, did you and Alvin happen to switch underwear?"

Brittany stuck out her tongue. "Eww, why would I ever switch underwear with anyone? Especially with a boy, that's just gross! I know much better than that. Nothing against Alvin or your other boys, they're nice - I just don't want to switch underwear with them." As Dave helped her get her pajama top on, she seemed to be contemplating a better response. "Well, I do remember as Uncle Giorgio carried me out of the nurse's office that day, I said goodbye to Alvin, and right before I fell asleep on Uncle Giorgio's shoulder, he slipped off my panties in the hallway and handed them to Alvin. Later that night, Uncle Giorgio had Alvin's underwear with him, and he gave them to Uncle Ian. Then Uncle Ian asked Uncle Giorgio to give me the other half of the Xanax tablet that he gave Alvin earlier that afternoon in the bathroom, right before he took his underwear. Isn't that what happened, Jeanette? I was kind of asleep during that whole time, so I don't remember much."

"WHAT?" Dave gasped in shock as he glanced over to Jeanette.

Jeanette nodded enthusiastically. "That sounds about right, Britt."

"Why did Ian need to - or _want to_ \- drug you, Brittany?" Dave asked with his usual fatherly concern. "Were you having trouble sleeping or something?"

"I don't know." Brittany blinked, looking like she may start crying.

Jeanette added, "I think it was so she couldn't resist or struggle while Giorgio took questionable pictures of her and forced her to be his 'love slave' that night. Much like he probably didn't want Alvin to resist in the bathroom at school while he did the same thing to him while he also took his underwear. Neither of them would be able to rat him out if they both didn't know what was happening to them at the time, that would be my guess as to _why_ he drugged them."

Dave rested his forehead on his hands and took several deep breaths. His mind was reeling with this new information. The Xanax - that would explain why Alvin was so lethargic all of Tuesday afternoon. And why he went commando, and had Brittany's panties in his pocket. Wait...was that also why he felt dirty and wanted Dave to wash him a second time in the bathtub? Because he felt violated from earlier that afternoon? Did Alvin deliberately lie through his teeth about all that? Or was he just so out of it that he really _didn't_ know what happened to him? Is that also why he had been wetting his bed every night this week since Tuesday night? Were his boys aware of this abuse the girls suffered the whole time? Was _this_ why they invited these girls over for a weekend sleepover - to get them away from this situation? Were his boys all abused like this when they were younger and lived with Ian? Or just Alvin? He thought of some other questions.

He took another deep breath before placing his hands squarely on Brittany's shoulders so he could look into Brittany's eyes. He noticed they were a beautiful icy blue color, somewhat similar to Alvin's and Simon's eyes. "Uh, listen, Brittany," Dave began in the most loving tone he could muster, despite his feelings of shock and anger that were welling up inside him - not at all toward Brittany or her sisters, but toward Ian and his assistant. "Are you telling me that Ian - or his assistant - has been touching your private parts just for his own pleasure?"

"Uhh..." Brittany looked away from him, unsure how to respond. But she nodded with an uncomfortable look on her face.

"It's OK, this is a safe place." Dave assured the girl chipmunk. "I know I've just met you today, and don't know you girls as well as I know my boys, but I don't want anything to happen to any of you, and I don't want anyone to hurt you. Did this man actually ever...hurt you down there?" This sure was awkward! Dave didn't know how he would explain this question if Brittany still didn't quite understand him, but he wanted to know whether or not she needed medical attention due to this abuse.

"Not really, you see..." Brittany motioned for Dave to come closer so she could whisper something in his ear.

Dave blinked in shock that a five-year-old girl knew such colorful language to describe her own body - or anyone else's, for that matter - in such graphic detail. He wondered if that was where Alvin had learned such words to describe his anatomy. He regained his composure to look squarely at Brittany again. "OK, Brittany, I'm a little relieved that he didn't physically hurt you, but from now on, I would feel more comfortable if you would just call that part of your body your 'girl parts' or your 'private parts', rather than...what you just told me. OK?"

Eleanor looked puzzled. "So, Dave, you don't want us to use the word 'vagina'?"

Dave chuckled a little. "Oh, if only 'vagina' was the word she used, Eleanor! I would still prefer that to what she actually said."

"What _did_ she say, then?" Eleanor asked.

"Please don't tell her, Dave!" Brittany begged. "I don't know if Eleanor even knows such words, and Jeanette may not know them, either."

"Oh, Britt, you underestimate me." Jeanette looked nervous. "You forget that when I'm sent to the Punishment Cage without my glasses, that my other senses get heightened and I can still hear _everything_."

Dave sighed. "I know it wasn't easy for you to tell me what has been going on at home for you girls, but I'm glad you told me. I hope to figure something out this weekend that I can do to help you. In the meantime, Brittany, please don't tell any of my boys what you whispered in my ear, they really don't need to hear that, and I don't think they could handle it very well. OK?" He waited until he saw her nod and smile before he continued. "And just another weird question for you, Brittany - but your sisters can answer if they want - have you also had any problems with bed-wetting since Tuesday?"

"Her bed-wetting has been happening _long_ before then!" Eleanor sighed with a slight giggle toward the end, as Brittany glared at her.

"It's OK, Brittany." Dave rubbed Brittany's shoulders reassuringly. "In fact..." He stood up and walked over to retrieve something from under Alvin's bed. When he returned to kneel in front of Brittany again, he was holding something in his hand. "Would you feel more comfortable trying these, at least for tonight? They're some disposable night briefs that I got for one - or any of - my boys, who has recently developed a bed-wetting problem. And now I see why. I even cut a slit in the back so they'll fit a chipmunk tail. I also won't tell anyone else that you're using them."

Brittany nodded with a growing smile, as she realized she could trust Dave. "I'll try them. After all, I don't want to wet my new sleeping bag, or anyone else's bed. And, I think your boys already know about my bed-wetting problem, just like we know about Alvin's. We let him know that we don't judge him, and we won't make fun of him for it either, since we understand."

Dave turned towards Brittany's sisters once he finished dressing her in the briefs and her pajama bottoms. "Would either of you like to try these tonight as well?"

Jeanette and Eleanor looked at each other, before Jeanette shook her head. "I think we'll be OK. But if we change our minds, we can always get some from under that middle bed, which I'm guessing by the red covers is Alvin's bed?"

"Oh yes, Jeanette." Dave nodded. "And if any of you have any accidents or nightmares, you can always come find me and tell me in my room, so I can help you find some dry clothes and sheets for you. If I sound grouchy, it's only because I'm tired, but not because I'm upset with or mad at any of you. Considering your home life, I wouldn't blame any of you. I would probably wet the bed and have nightmares if I spent that much time around Ian, or this creepy assistant of his. And I hope that I can think of something to do about your situation while you are staying with us. I may have just met you girls today, but since my boys love you and consider you their friends, so do I. I want all three of you to feel safe, loved, and accepted as part of our family. In turn, I hope to be worthy of your trust. OK, girls?" He opened his arms, letting the three sisters in for a hug.

"OK, thanks, Dave!" They said in unison as they accepted his invitation for the group hug.

Changing the subject, Dave remembered Brittany's hair and nail supplies she packed. "Well, I need to help the boys into their jammies, too. While I do that, the three of you are welcome to paint each other's nails or play with each other's hair in the living room while you watch a movie. Just don't forget to put down Kleenex to prevent spills. OK, girls?"

"Sure, Dave!" Brittany's eyes lit up as she retrieved some smaller bags within her large duffle bag. She excitedly ran downstairs with her sisters, as Dave smiled to himself and followed close behind them.

* * *

"Alright, fellas, your turn!" Dave called once he led the girls into the living room. The three brothers willingly got up and followed him upstairs to their bedroom.

After Dave laid out their pajamas and underwear - as well as some disposable night briefs for Alvin - he felt a tug on his pant leg. It was Theodore trying to get his dad's attention. "Dave, I'm kinda hungry for some popcorn and something to drink. I also wanna play with Eleanor before bed."

Dave knelt down to level with his youngest son. "Would you like me to get you dressed in your jammies first, Theodore? That way you can have more time to play with Eleanor?"

The little boy chipmunk smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "Thanks, Dave! I'd like that!"

Once Dave got Theodore dressed and let him leave the room to play with Eleanor, Dave took a deep breath as he realized Alvin was his next son to dress. Hmm... How was he going to approach this subject? Dave wasn't sure if he was mad at Alvin for keeping such a secret from him all week, or if he just wanted to hug him and comfort him, letting him know how much he was loved, and that as his father, he would do anything for him. As he slipped off Alvin's school clothes, he began, "Um, listen, Alvin, the girls told me something very disturbing about their living situation with Ian and his assistant. They also said that on Tuesday, Ian's assistant gave you drugs, then touched your private parts as he took your underwear. Is this true?"

Alvin's eyes went wide, and he bit his lower lip and looked away from his father's gaze.

Dave gently stroked his son's left cheek and ear. "Alvin, it's OK, you're not in trouble. I just want to know why you didn't tell me about this sooner?"

Alvin burst into tears. "Dave, I'm sorry! I was gonna tell you this weekend, after you met the girls. I had to keep it a secret until now, because I didn't want Brittany to get in trouble."

"What? Brittany isn't in trouble, either." Dave looked puzzled. "In fact, I want to do what I can to help her out of this situation."

"Not with you, with Ian." Alvin shook his head. "Giorgio said he wouldn't tell Ian that me and Brittany made friends, as long as I didn't tell anyone that I played some bonding fun and games with him in the little boys' room."

"But do you realize that by _not_ telling me about this sooner, the girls had to stay longer in such an uncomfortable situation?" Dave asked gently, since maybe Alvin didn't know that. After all, he was only five years old. When he saw more tears falling from Alvin's eyes, he clarified, "Sorry, maybe you really _didn't_ think of that, and you were too drugged to think clearly at the time. I can see that you care about Brittany, and her sisters, and that you would never want to hurt them. I mean, if I had known sooner that they were in that situation, I would not have a problem with letting them sleepover even on a school night. Or maybe I would've had more time to look into getting a lawyer to help me get custody of them, just like I did for you fellas."

Alvin blinked away some of his tears, and his face started to light up. "Does this mean you'll adopt them, too?"

Dave chuckled as he thought for a moment. Adopt the Chipettes? Huh, not a bad idea. After all, he had already officially adopted the Chipmunks shortly after getting custody of them from Ian Hawke. He was already a single dad to the three of them, so what was three more? Dave ruffled Alvin's hair affectionately after helping him into his pajama top. "I guess adopting them into our family is still on the table, but we'll see if there are other options that would work just as well. At the very least, I hope that this weekend will be a nice break for the girls away from Ian and his creepy assistant. I'm glad you fellas made friends with them and thought of inviting them over. They seem like a good group of girls, and I'm glad to have met them."

"The sleepover was Alvin's idea." Simon added. "And just so you know, Dave, Theodore and I didn't know what happened to Alvin on Tuesday afternoon until Jeanette told us on Wednesday morning."

"Theodore knew about this, too?" Dave was shocked.

Simon nodded. "We agreed to let Alvin tell you in his own way, and his own time. He kinda wanted to wait until after you had met the girls this weekend, somewhat for their own protection."

Dave had reached the point in dressing Alvin that involved changing him into the disposable night briefs. "Another downside to keeping this secret from me for so long was all of your bed-wetting this week."

"Dave, do I really have to wear these again tonight?" Alvin whined.

Dave rolled his eyes as he dressed Alvin. "Tell you what, if you can go for...an entire week without wetting these, I'll let you go back to sleeping in regular underwear. And I won't tell anyone else that you're wearing them, in the meantime. OK, deal?"

Alvin shook his dad's hand. "Deal. As embarrassing as it is to wet the bed at my age, I'm willing to risk embarrassment just to keep Brittany safe."

Once Dave changed Simon into his pajamas, all three of his boys matched in short-sleeved button-down t-shirts that resembled white baseball jerseys, with colored stripes in their favorite colors, and pajama pants to match the tops. He headed back downstairs with Simon and Alvin to finish the movie and check on Theodore and the girls.

There was a funny sight downstairs once they reached the living room. Eleanor was painting Theodore's fingernails, Jeanette was painting his toenails, and Brittany was curling his hair around some small, pink spongy curlers. Theodore seemed to be enjoying this attention. As soon as his father and brothers came downstairs, he smiled at them, "Look how pretty they are making me, Dave!"

Dave laughed. "Aww, Theodore, you look so cute! Please don't move, I'll be right back with the camera." He ducked into his office for a split second, then returned with his digital camera to snap a picture of Theodore smiling with the girls.

"Cheese!" The four of them smiled together.

Dave set the camera down on the table behind the couch, just in case there were other such moments he wanted to preserve in memory. "You kids enjoy yourselves in here! I'm gonna be in and out of the kitchen making some popcorn, and changing into my own pajamas."

"OK, Dave!" The kids all replied in unison, as they went back to watching their movie and playing beauty salon.

When Dave finally returned to the living room, dressed in his pajamas, and carrying a bowl of popcorn, he chuckled to himself as he set the bowl down on the coffee table and retrieved the camera. Brittany was tease-combing Alvin's hair into a bit of a fro, while Jeanette was combing Simon's hair straight back to where it looked all slick. Theodore's hair was all done up in little pink curlers, Eleanor's pigtails were each wrapped around a few curlers so that she looked like Princess Leia from " _Star Wars_ ", and the two of them were playing tea party as they waited for their nails to dry.

"Dave, how would you like me to do my hair like this at our next concert?" Alvin chuckled as he posed with Brittany for a picture.

"Oh, I would definitely hire these girls as our pre-concert pit crew." Dave laughed as he snapped some more pictures of the kids.

"And I don't think I've ever looked so handsome, suave, and debonair." Simon admired his hair in a hand-held mirror, as Jeanette giggled beside him, posing for another picture.

As Dave sat on the couch, Theodore crawled up into his lap, sitting on his father's left thigh. Eleanor crawled onto his right thigh.

"Dave, can I sit in your lap too?" Eleanor looked up at him with her eyes as big as she could make them, and her lower lip protruding.

Dave smiled at her. "Sure, Eleanor!"

Eleanor gasped with another exciting idea. "Oh, Dave, can I paint your fingernails? I bet this color would look great on you." She pulled out a bottle of light blue glittery nail polish.

"Why not?" Dave chuckled as he pulled some Kleenexes out of the box to use as a drop cloth.

"Oh! This'll be so much fun!" Eleanor squealed happily.

"Dave, would you mind if I painted your toenails?" Jeanette asked from on the floor.

"Sure, Jeanette." Dave chuckled to himself at how much the girls were growing on him. He excused himself to Eleanor for a moment so he could remove his socks and house-shoes, so that Jeanette could access his toes more easily.

"And, Dave, would you mind if I played with your hair?" Brittany appeared almost out of nowhere as she stood on the back of the couch.

"Alright, Brittany, you can play with my hair." Dave smiled at her before he let out a yawn. He was pretty tired after their shopping spree that afternoon. Before long, he had dozed off.

* * *

Before Dave knew it, he was reliving the events earlier that day. He was pushing a shopping cart through the supermarket and department store. Theodore and Eleanor were taking a ride in the top part of the basket, that also functions as a seat for small children. The others took turns riding on the shopping cart's undercarriage and running around fetching groceries for Dave to put in the basket.

At one point, Alvin was running around the corner of an aisle, Dave warning him not to wonder too far away. He was trying to push the cart to keep up with Alvin, when around the corner, he met a store employee twirling Alvin's boxers from his fingers. When the employee fully turned to face Dave, it was none other than Ian Hawke!

"What, Seville?" He glared at him. "It wasn't enough that you took my boys, but now you had to go and take my girls, too? And my dignity, and my job as a music producer?" He sighed. "Oh well, I can at least sell Alvin's clothes on the black market. Don't you dare try to stop me, Dave, my assistant and bodyguard, Giorgio, also practices as one heck of a lawyer. He's also a movie director, who is going to make a video as he spanks and punishes your little brat, Alvin. And then he's going to make another film where he performs a vivisection of Alvin for educational purposes - he's also a professor at the university's medical school. I have connections in very high places, Dave. Don't mess with me, unless you wanna lose big time."

"DAVE! HELP ME!" Dave could hear Alvin screaming and crying as he was dragged away to his horrific fate, as Dave was powerless to do anything to help him. Ian laughed in a demonic laughter.

Dave jumped with fright as he woke up with a start from this nightmare. He looked at his surroundings and realized he was still sitting on the couch in his living room.

"Are you OK, Dave?" Simon asked from a spot to his dad's left on the couch, with Jeanette on Simon's left side, also looking at him with concern.

Dave breathed a sigh of relief as he realized he just had a nightmare. "I'm OK, Simon. I think. I just had some nightmare about Ian Hawke." He reached out to pat Simon's head, but looked puzzled as he admired his fingernails. He remembered that he let the girls paint them a glittering light blue color. Since Jeanette was sitting on the couch, she must've finished painting his toenails by now.

"Been there!" Jeanette nodded at him sympathetically. "But you know where you can find some disposable night briefs, in case you need them." Simon nudged her playfully, while stifling a giggle, as she continued, "I think your biggest concern is your snoring, though. You may have sleep apnea, Dave. You should really talk to a doctor about it."

"Thanks for your concern, Jeanette, but I think it's from a deviated septum that I've had for years." Dave reached over to pat Jeanette's head tenderly. "How long have I been asleep, by the way?"

Simon looked at the clock. "I'd say about ninety minutes."

"Ninety minutes?" Dave looked around the living room. He suddenly noticed Eleanor and Theodore snuggled in his lap, both sound asleep, the spongy curlers still in their hair. Brittany, who must have finished playing with Dave's hair long ago, was now lying on the floor next to Alvin. Both kids were on their bellies, with their heads and elbows resting on pillows as they watched TV, their feet casually paddling in the air behind them. Once every few seconds, one or both of them would move or glance at each other in such a way that Dave could tell they were still awake.

Careful so he wouldn't wake up Theodore and Eleanor, Dave asked the remaining awake children, "Is anyone ready to go upstairs to snuggle into their beds or sleeping bags yet?"

Alvin turned around to say in a tired Jamaican accent, "Yeah, Mon!" Brittany giggled sleepily next to him as he yawned.

Dave chuckled quietly as he stood up, carefully cradling the two little chipmunk children as he carried them upstairs. He turned to ensure that the other four children were coming with him. They were right behind him, once Simon turned off the TV.

Once he reached the boys' bedroom, he whispered down to Jeanette and Brittany. "Oh, girls, I'm sorry we forgot to open the packages for your sleeping bags. We can still do that if you're not already too tired, and don't mind waiting for me to set them up. But you're also welcome to share the boys' beds. It's up to you."

"I'm so tired, I don't mind sharing a bed." Brittany shrugged.

Jeanette smiled sleepily, "We're used to huddling together to keep warm when we sleep, anyway."

"OK." Dave smiled at them as he turned to Theodore's bed. Since he had both hands full, Simon pulled back the covers on Theodore's bed for him. "Thanks, Simon!" Dave whispered as he set down Theo and Ellie side by side on the bed pulling up the covers to tuck them in. He kissed both of their little foreheads as they slept, smoothing their bangs aside. He chuckled at the sight of their spongy curlers still in their hair, and wondered how curly their hair would be in the morning. He suddenly remembered that Brittany had played with his hair before he fell asleep on the couch, and wondered what all she had done to it.

As Dave walked over to Simon's bed, he saw Simon showing Jeanette a good place to keep her glasses on the table as she crawled in to share his bed with him. "Hey, Simon," Dave whispered, "If you're still awake by the time I bring the camera from downstairs, would you mind getting a picture of me after the girls gave me a makeover?"

"Even better, Dave," Simon whispered back to him, with a bit of a giggle. "We already took some pics of your makeover while you were asleep." Jeanette muffled a giggle from next to him.

"Thank you, Simon." Dave smiled as he ruffled his son's bangs to clear a spot on his forehead. "Goodnight, Simon, sleep well!" Dave leaned over and kissed his forehead. He also leaned over to Jeanette, who was sleeping to Simon's left. "Goodnight, Jeanette! Hope you sleep well!" Dave kissed her forehead as well, especially since he doubted she got enough affection from her usual guardian.

"Thanks, Dave!" She hummed sleepily. "I'm sure I will, since I'm here with both sisters, and you guys. Goodnight, Dave!" She turned to her side once Dave stood up. "And goodnight, Simon! Thanks for letting me meet your dad, and for letting my sisters and me sleepover at your house. This has been one of the best days I've had in a long time." She didn't need need her glasses at the moment to find her way to Simon's shoulder, or to his cheek to give him a small kiss of gratitude. She recognized his warmth by now as almost second nature.

"Goodnight, Jeanette." Simon smiled at her. "Today was a great day for me as well. It's right up there with the day I met you. I know it was only four-and-a-half days ago that we met, but you're already one of the best friends I could ever have." He put his arm protectively around her in a hug, returning the kiss to her cheek. Even though Simon wasn't usually affectionate, with Jeanette he was willing to try and learn new things. So far, he liked the results of this "scientific experiment".

Dave made his way over to Alvin's bed, where Alvin was helping Brittany find a spot on his bed. Alvin hung his hat on the headboard post closer to Theodore's bed, while letting Brittany crawl onto the side closer to Simon's bed. He turned to tell Brittany, "Right here in the middle is what I call 'The Sweet Spot', where I usually like to sleep. But we can share that 'Sweet Spot' tonight."

"Thanks, Alvin." Brittany responded with a bit of a yawn.

Dave sat on Alvin's bed near Alvin's feet. He smoothed his son's bangs to clear a spot on his forehead, where he planted a goodnight kiss. "Goodnight, Alvin, my son. Sleep well!"

Though sleepy, Alvin giggled in his Jamaican accent, "Goodnight to you, Mon! Be jammin'!"

Dave chuckled as he turned to Brittany to smooth her bangs away. "OK, Miss Hairstylist, what did you do to my hair?"

Brittany pretended to be asleep at first, but she then pointed to Alvin. "He made me do it."

Dave glanced over to Alvin, who just explained, "Don't worry, we didn't cut it, or shave it, or color it, or do anything to it that can't be easily undone. It's just..."

"Still hard to take you seriously while looking at you." Brittany finished for him.

"Yeah, Mon!" Alvin nodded with his Jamaican accent again that made both of them giggle.

Dave affectionately rubbed Alvin's chest. "You know I can always check a mirror in my room if I want to see it. And, like I can take _you_ seriously with _your_ hair in that 'groovy fro', that's starting to go flat by now." He ruffled Alvin's hair, causing him to giggle.

Brittany giggled again as she watched them. She wondered to herself if this was what family bedtime was supposed to be like - fun, warm, affectionate, loving. She smiled as she realized her sisters were snuggled in the beds nearby - they were safe, warm, and happy as they slept next to Alvin's brothers. This sure beat the Punishment Cage, or the pile of towels in their semi-private sleeping box - or even Giorgio's bed, for that matter. As she started to doze off, she felt her bangs being moved aside as Dave kissed her forehead and whispered, "Goodnight, Brittany. Sleep well!"

"Goodnight, Dave! Thanks for everything!" She smiled with a yawn as she felt Dave's fingers gently brush across her cheek.

Once Dave reached the door to the boys' bedroom, he called out in a whisper, so as not to wake up anyone who may have already fallen asleep, "Goodnight, Fellas - and Ladies!" As he closed the door, he heard a reply in whispered tones, "Goodnight, Dave!" By now, it was probably just Alvin, Brittany, and Simon.

Once Dave left the room, Alvin turned to his left side and pecked a kiss on Brittany's cheek. "Goodnight, Brittany, My Princess!"

Brittany sleepily rolled onto her right side so she could return the kiss to Alvin's cheek. "Goodnight, Alvin, My 'Hero In Shining Armor'! I'm enjoying this sleepover so far. Thanks for having us."

"Sure, it's great having you over." Alvin smiled. "And, I didn't know you were still awake. You just look so cute when you're asleep - like a beautiful little angel with a cute little chipmunk nose." He playfully but gently touched the tip of her nose with his right finger. "I realize, now that I'm this close to you, that you have a cute little nose. I like it!"

She giggled somewhat sleepily, "Thanks, Alvin... You know, I 'picked it out' myself."

Alvin laughed. "Oh, I get it! You 'picked your nose'! Haha! You know, Dave would probably say, 'That's why God created Kleenexes.' You're so funny!" He sighed sleepily, "I have so much fun when I'm with you, Britt. I hope you have as much fun with me as I have with you. I never would've imagined before this week that I would enjoy being friends with such a pretty girl like you. You're awesome!"

Brittany was moved by this. "Aww, thanks, Alvin!" She slightly rolled over him in a sweet, but playful hug. "I've never been such good friends with any boys before I met you and your brothers. Doing all the girly stuff I do, I didn't think I'd ever find enough common ground with any boys to make friends. Yet, here I am, sleeping over at the home of my new best friend, who is the 'boy-est' of the boyish boys that I've ever met. But for some reason, I like that about you, Alvin. _You're_ awesome!" She started smoothing his hair out of its fro. "It takes a special kind of manly boy to let me play with his hair. That was a lot of fun, by the way. See, I _do_ have fun with you, too." She paused for a moment as a thought struck her. "I also realize that tonight was the first time I saw you without wearing your hat. You still look cute, even though the hat is kinda your thing."

Alvin chuckled. "The hat _is_ my thing, Brittany. I always wear it for concerts and out in public in general. I even feel naked without it. Believe me, I don't let just any girl take off my hat and play with my hair. At least without taking me out to a nice dinner first. But, hey, you and me - and Dave, and our other siblings - all went out for pizza, which I consider a _very_ nice dinner. So you're covered. Besides, you're my best friend, too, and I consider it proof of our friendship that I let you take off my hat and play with my hair. It almost even feels like we're married because of that."

"Got it!" Brittany nodded as she yawned again. "Next time I wanna play with your hair, I'll ask Dave for your hand in marriage first."

* * *

Dave walked sleepily to his room. He was tired enough that he wanted to just collapse on his bed. Instead, he paused and headed for his bathroom.

Once he turned on the light, he got a better view of his fingernails. They were still that glittery light blue color. "Eleanor..." Dave chuckled to himself as he admired Eleanor's handiwork. He thought about the little artist herself. She seemed so happy, sweet, and giggly, even very maternal for one so young. Why didn't Ian just appreciate her the way she was? At first glance, she looked like Theodore with pigtails. Her eyes were a beautiful aqua-green color. Dave could already tell that she was more outgoing than Theodore, but not so outspoken that it would intimidate shy Theodore. Dave already liked seeing the two of them play together. They were so considerate of each other's feelings, and just so sweet to each other, that it just melted his heart to watch them.

Glancing at his bare feet, he next admired his toenails and thought of the little artistic genius behind them. His toenails were painted in a pearly light purple color. He laughed while shaking his head. "Jeanette..." Funny that even though Jeanette looked a bit like Simon with longer hair in an off-sided bun, she was sweet and shy, like Theodore - but even more shy. Her eyes nearly matched the paint on Dave's toenails - a pretty light violet color. As shy and mousy as she was at first when Dave met her, Dave liked watching how she still obviously cared for her sisters and had that sense of "big sister" responsibility for them. Why did Ian yell at her so much? She was so sweet and compassionate. And her memory and imagination were just so sharp!

Dave noticed how at the pizza parlor, she only ate the cheese, spinach, alfredo, and veggie pizzas. When Dave asked her if she wanted any of the pepperoni or hamburger pizza, she sweetly and shyly declined, saying that she didn't want to cause any cows or pigs to suffer and die just so she could eat. It made him feel a little guilty about eating pizza with any meat on it in front of her, even though she said she didn't care what other people around her ate, that it was just her own personal choice, and she was respectful of others' choices. " _Good thing I didn't take the kids out to a barbecue place or a steakhouse._ " Dave thought.

It even brought to mind the conversation Dave remembered having with his boys when Theodore ate his last hotdog. The innocent little guy just looked up at his father and asked for the recipe for hotdogs, since he liked the one he just ate and wanted another one. Alvin had told him, in an attempt to scare his little brother, that they were made of the tails of dachshunds, hence the nickname for them as "wienie-dogs". Theodore's eyes had gone very wide, asking if it hurt the dachshunds to have their tails removed. Alvin just replied, "Wouldn't it hurt you if someone cut off your tail?" Theodore gasped at that.

Enter Simon, who corrected Alvin and pointed out they were made from processed beef, a by-product of bovines, AKA - cows.

Alvin turned to Theodore, saying, "Well, apparently I was wrong about the wienie-dogs. But when they milk a cow so hard that it's milk-thingy comes off - "

"They're called 'udders', Alvin." Simon interrupted. "And that's _still_ not necessarily how they make hotdogs..."

Poor Theodore swore off meat completely after this conversation! But since he had wanted a second helping, Dave ordered one for him with the vegetarian frank, assuring Theodore that no dachshunds or cows or other animals were harmed in the making of it.

Dave laughed to himself at the antics of his kids. He then entered his bathroom to look at his hair in the mirror. The sight made him burst out laughing. "I see what Brittany meant - it _is_ hard to take me seriously like this. I can also understand why Alvin used his Jamaican accent!" For his hair was fixed up in various loose braids and cornrows that stuck out every which way. "Brittany sure did a good job, especially considering it took her less than ninety minutes to do this!" He thought about "Miss Hairstylist", as he had jokingly called her earlier. She obviously had a creative streak in her, and she was spirited and independent, as well as sweet. It baffled Dave wondering how she and Alvin had become such good friends - she was the very girly "pretty-pink-princess", and Alvin was the embodiment of testosterone, at least for a little five-year-old boy. If Alvin had been his daughter instead of his son - _Alvina?_ \- she would've probably been like Brittany. Dave hated to think that Ian and his assistant had been exploiting her, or Alvin, for that matter. Was Dave already thinking of Brittany as his daughter? And were her sisters also like daughters to him? Sure, there may have been a time when Dave used to dream of having a little girl of his own - but now it was as if that dream came true threefold, and he now loved the three Chipette sisters as if they were his own daughters.

Alvin's words from earlier were echoing inside Dave's mind. " _Does_ _this_ _mean_ _you'll_ _adopt_ _them,_ _too?_ "

Dave smiled to himself as he yawned. He then turned out the bathroom light and headed for his own bed. "Oh, Alvin..." He thought. "If only it were that easy..."

* * *

 **A/N:** The girls giving Dave and his boys makeovers is based on a suggestion of "munkfeavor76" about letting girls (his nieces, etc) do his hair  & nails, & my brother Cliff letting his 4-year-old daughter Macy do his nails (golden and glittery!). He was DANGED PROUD of his little artist! I agree with Brittany in that it takes a special kind of manly boy or manly man to let a little girl have fun with his hair and nails like that! It's also a nod to the Nickelodeon episode "Sister Act", where the girls tied Dave to a chair to give him a makeover.

I'm also sort of going out on a limb in saying that Jeanette and Theodore are vegetarians, for similar reasons. I mean, they're both the extra-compassionate types. In the 2000 animated movie "Meet The Wolfman", Dave tells Theodore that he doesn't eat meat, after Theo asks for a steak for breakfast, as he's starting to change into a werewolf. But I honestly have yet to see any of the other chipmunk characters eat meat. But I'm sure they aren't full-out vegans, because I saw them cooking with eggs and milk products in the Nick episode "Let Them Eat Crumbs". For the record, I'm personally an ovo-lacto-vegetarian, but as the only one in my family, I'm used to seeing others eat meat around me, and it doesn't bother me. It's kinda cool that I can still enjoy the company of meat-lovers, in total harmony and without any judgement about what any of us chooses to put on our plates. Also, the mention of a barbecue place was also a nod to "The Squeakquel", when Ian threatened to barbecue the Chipettes if they defied his orders.


	16. First Swim

**Chip-ergarten**

 **About This Story:** The Chipmunks start Kindgarten and meet some mysterious new friends, the Chipettes. Some similarities may overlap with "The Squeakquel", only they are in Kindergarten. Warning: some chapters contain some harsher adult(-ish) themes, even though age-wise they are 5. I don't own any part of the Chipmunk franchise, just borrowing them from Nickelodeon, Janice Karman,  & Ross Bagdasarian, their family, & their company.

 **About This Chapter:** Rated PG, since there is a random scene mentioned of a wedding and characters questioning whether it should be a "white wedding".

 **Pairings:** Alvin/Brittany, Simon/Jeanette, Theodore/Eleanor

* * *

 **16\. First Swim**

"Who's ready to swim in the pool?" Dave asked the six chipmunk children on Saturday afternoon as he led them out the backdoor. He was wearing blue swim trunks, while his boys wore some trunks in their favorite colors, and the girls all wore two-piece tankinis in their favorite colors. Theodore and the girls also wore toddler floatie-vests on their arms and across their shoulders. Dave also wore around his neck, a waterproof pouch covering for his camera.

"Me! Me! Me!" Alvin skipped along excitedly, making his way to the diving board.

"Slow down, Alvin!" Dave cautioned. "Remember there is no reason for you to run at the pool."

"Aw, man!" Alvin groaned as he slowed down.

Dave glanced down at the three girls. "It can get slippery around the pool, so we walk, we don't run."

Once Alvin reached the diving board, he called out, "Hey, Brittany, watch this... Cannonball!" He hugged his knees as he tucked them under him and jumped into the water. Dave snapped a picture of him in the air.

Brittany clapped and laughed as he surfaced. She wasn't sure about the pool, but her friend Alvin seemed like he was having a good time. And Dave said he would be with them the entire time.

Dave led the other kids over to the steps in the shallow end. His right hand held Jeanette's hand, while his left hand held Eleanor's hand. Simon held Jeanette's other hand, and Theodore held Eleanor's other hand. As Dave started descending the steps into the pool, he could see three of the other kids following him onto the first step with his peripheral vision. To his immediate right, he could hear Jeanette whimpering.

Ensuring that Eleanor was OK on his left, Dave gently let go of her hand while he reached the second step down and turned to Jeanette. "Are you alright, Jeanette? If the water still scares you, it's OK if you wanna sit right here and just get your feet wet for now."

"OK, Dave." Jeanette began to smile around her fear. The water was just overwhelming to her, and brought back bad memories of the abuse she and her sisters suffered during baths in the kitchen sink. She let go of Dave's hand to sit on the edge of the pool and let her feet dangle into the water next to Simon's wading feet.

"It's OK, Jeanette." Simon gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "I usually wade in slowly, myself. Alvin is the only one of us who just jumps off the diving board. It may be a whole hour before I feel like going to the deep end or trying the diving board. So I don't mind staying over here with you for a while."

"That's sweet of you, Simon." Jeanette smiled at him.

"You know, there are plenty of fun things to do in the shallow end." Simon sat down next to her.

"Really? Like what?" Jeanette started getting interested.

Simon chuckled. "One thing I like to do is put a diving mask on over my glasses and pretend that I'm a deep-sea diver exploring the bottom of the ocean."

"Wow, that sounds cool!" Jeanette giggled.

"I started doing that at one time when Dave accidentally dropped his keys into the pool and he needed someone to retrieve them." Simon explained. "Since then, we've made a game out of it, where my brothers and I throw toys in the pool and we time each other to see who can retrieve the most toys in the shortest amount of time. It's almost like an underwater Easter egg hunt."

"That does sound like fun!" Jeanette giggled again. "I can also picture you as a deep-sea explorer, like Jacques Cousteau. That seems fascinating!"

"Oh yeah?" Simon was thrilled that he had stimulated the scientific curiosity of a fellow scientist-in-the-making. "Well, even though I like the idea of exploring outer space - I mean, the scientific community knows more about the surface of the moon and outer space than they do about the ocean floor - exploration of anything, like the deep-sea, has also intrigued me."

While the two young geniuses were discussing ocean exploration, Dave had waded out to the main level of the shallow end. He turned around with his arms outstretched as Theodore splashed and paddled out to him. "That's it, Theodore, you're swimming!" Before his little son reached him, Dave also snapped a picture of him swimming.

"Can I try that, too?" Eleanor's face lit up.

"Absolutely, Eleanor!" Dave was about five feet away from the steps, and he stretched out his arms to welcome the eager little girl chipmunk.

She seemed a little unsure what to do at first, so she pushed off the edge of the step as she had seen Theodore do.

"Yay, Eleanor!" Theo cheered.

"There you go, Eleanor!" Dave coached as he snapped a picture of her. "Just keep kicking your legs and paddling your arms. You're doing it! You're swimming!"

She was all smiles as she reached Dave and Theodore. "I did it! And it was so much fun!"

Dave held the two of them as he showed them the pictures of themselves swimming. They giggled at seeing themselves in action. Suddenly, Dave felt a foam rubber flat lounging float bump into him from behind. "Oh, excuse me, Alvin."

"Yeah, excuse you, David." Alvin groaned. He was lying on his belly in the middle of the float, paddling with his arms toward the steps. "I was on my way to pick up Brittany at the steps when you got in my way."

"Now, Alvin, that's not very nice - other than wanting to give Brittany a ride." Dave eyed his son. "Come on, I know you know a much kinder way to say that. Do you want to say it the nice way, or do you wanna sit out of the pool for five minutes?"

Alvin sighed. "I mean, 'sorry for running into you, Dave. I thought I had more room.' May I please get by you so I can get to the steps?"

"That's better, Alvin." Dave smiled.

"Oh, can Eleanor and I ride on the float, too?" Theodore perked up.

"We can even help you paddle!" Eleanor volunteered.

Alvin shrugged. "Sure!"

Dave helped the two little chipmunks sit on either side of Alvin, as he looked into Alvin's bright blue eyes. "Alvin, can I count on you to be like a good big brother to them, in case they need any help swimming? I know you and Simon are good swimmers and good helpers."

Alvin nodded enthusiastically with a big smile on his face. He liked it when his father showed faith in him like that. Placing his left arm around Theo's shoulders and his right arm around Ellie's shoulders, he smiled at the two of them. "Never fear, your big brother is here!"

"Oh, thanks, Alvin!" Theodore squealed as he leaned in to return the hug.

"I've never had a big brother before." Eleanor giggled. "I'm so glad it's you, Alvin."

Alvin giggled in return. "And I've never had a little sister before, but I like the idea of adopting you as my little sister, Eleanor." He hoped to himself that this meant Dave was actually going to adopt the girls. But if Dave didn't for some reason, could Alvin still "adopt" Eleanor as his little sister? Would that automatically make her sisters _his_ sisters? If that didn't work out, then he figured he could always convince Brittany to run off with him, and they could get married and live happily ever after. That was at least his back-up plan, anyway. Dave would just _have_ to adopt Brittany if she became Alvin's little bride.

The misguided thoughts of his five-year-old mind were interrupted as Dave called to Brittany on the steps. "Brittany, would you like for us to come to you, or would you like to try swimming to us?"

Brittany considered the choices. "Do I have to get my hair wet?"

"Not if you keep your head above the water, like Eleanor and Theodore did." Dave smiled. "And my hair isn't wet yet."

"OK, I guess I can try coming to you." Brittany squatted on the edge of the first step and pushed off into the water like a little frog, as she had seen her little sister and Theodore do. It was fairly easy, and the distance between her and Dave was closing fast.

"Yeah, that's how you do it, Britt!" Dave cheered as he snapped a picture of her smiling and paddling towards him.

"Alright, Brittany!" The others cheered as she reached Dave's arms.

Dave hugged her as he showed her the picture he took of her swimming. She giggled. "Thanks, Dave! Wow, those are funny pictures of us."

"How is your elbow, and your knee?" Dave asked her as he examined them.

"Better, I think." She looked at her healing scrapes. "They got darker and harder since yesterday."

"They're scabs by now." Dave explained. "Looks like they just needed some fresh bandages last night, and some air this morning." He saw her attempt to scratch the elbow scab. "Oh, just leave it alone and let it heal on its own. Picking and scratching at it makes it worse, OK?"

She smiled back at him. "OK, Dave."

"Hey, Britt, wanna join us on the float?" Eleanor asked her sister.

"Sure. How did you guys get on?" Brittany looked interested.

Theodore answered, "Dave put us on here." He pointed to himself and Eleanor.

"Not me." Alvin explained. "I got out of the water, dragged this into the pool, and jumped in next to it. Then I climbed on from the water. Piece of cake."

"Cool!" Brittany glanced up at Dave. "Can I try it that way?"

"Sure!" Dave placed her in the water. "Just swim over there, and Alvin and the others can help pull you up."

The others cheered for her as she reached the float. Theodore moved a little more to the left to clear a spot for Brittany to sit next to Alvin.

"Just pull yourself up onto the float head-first..." Alvin helped guide her. "Then just roll over onto your back and sit up."

Theodore giggled. "Sometimes I pretend that I'm a beached whale. Not much of a stretch when you're wearing a thick floatie-vest that adds inches to your middle." He patted the lower part of his vest.

Brittany sat up between Alvin and Theodore. "So, why do you still wear a vest, while your brothers can swim without one, Theo?"

Theodore sighed. "My arms and legs are - well, basically all of me - is shorter than them. And I have to paddle twice as hard to keep up with them. So I get tired faster. I can swim without the vest OK, but not quite as good as they can. That's why I like to keep it on."

"Ohh..." Brittany thought about it, then turned back to Dave. "Dave, am I allowed to try swimming _without_ the vest?"

Dave was a little surprised to hear one of the girls asking so soon. "Uh, OK. Here, I can unclip you in the back, and you can try it. But we'll keep your vest nearby in case you get tired." The buckle that kept the vests fastened was in the back, naturally to keep toddlers from removing the vests themselves. Once her vest was off, Dave set it aside on the float where the others were sitting and asked her, "Ready, Brittany?"

Brittany nodded and pushed herself off the float. "Whoa!" She sank completely under the water's surface, a little shocked at how much difference the vest made.

Dave almost panicked, since he knew it was still well over his kids' heads, even though it was just the shallow end of the pool. Three feet was a lot deeper in "chipmunk fathoms". But in the same instant he felt like panicking, he reached right below the surface to pull her back up. First, he ensured that the girl chipmunk was still breathing. As she blinked in shock, Dave's voice brought her back to reality. "Are you OK, Sweetie?"

"I-I-I think so." She stammered.

Dave smiled, relieved she was alright. "Without the vest, you have to remember to keep paddling your arms and kicking your legs to stay up. And when your head is underwater, you also need to keep breathing out through your mouth and blowing bubbles. It may be a bit to remember. Do you want to keep trying? Or do you need a break?"

Brittany smiled at him. "I wanna keep trying!"

"OK, sure..." Dave smiled back at her. "Why don't we try it this way... You hold onto my hands for now, so that you can just concentrate on kicking?"

She laughed as Dave led her around the shallow end that way. "I feel like we're dancing!"

Dave let go of one of her hands so he could take a bow with it. "May I have this dance, _señorita_?" He said in his best impression of a Spanish courtier.

"I'd be delighted, _señor_!" She pretended to curtsy with her free hand. His hand returned to holding hers, and he cheered and coached her as she kicked around the shallow end. It was fun for both of them.

As they "danced", it reminded Dave of the dream he had once he got into bed and slept soundly. In this dream, he was adjusting the bow tie of his tuxedo in a full-length mirror, the hair in his reflection a silvery-gray color, when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Ready, Dave?" It was Brittany as a full-grown young woman, she was also the height of a human girl in her twenties - about five or so feet tall. Hey, it was just a dream, Dave wasn't questioning how tall the chipmunks would really be when full-grown. She was also wearing a beautiful wedding gown. Behind her, her sisters were also in wedding gowns.

"This is it!" Jeanette smiled up at him, as well as at her two sisters. She glanced at a watch. "T-minus twenty minutes until I'm 'Missus Simon Seville'."

"I'm so excited that you get to walk all three of us down the aisle at once!" Eleanor squealed happily. "And I'm gonna be 'Missus Theodore Seville'!"

Dave smiled at the three of them. "And I've considered you girls a part of my family for years, but I'm so happy we can make it official today. Now, how should we do this, since there are three of you, but I only have two arms? Should I let one of you ride piggy-back?"

The three of them laughed. "Oh, Dave!"

"I'll volunteer for piggy-back." Eleanor spoke up. When the others looked at her, she shrugged. "OK, just kidding. I know Dave has a bad back, and I'm not the easiest to carry." She started to look slightly disappointed.

Jeanette nudged her playfully. "But Theodore likes you all curvy like that. He says he's a lucky munk to have you."

"Aww!" Eleanor smiled again as she squeezed Jeanette's hand. "And Simon says he's a lucky munk to have you."

Dave placed a hand on Brittany's shoulder. "You're being awfully quiet, Brittany. Or shall I say 'Missus Alvin Seville', as you will be in a few minutes?"

She smiled up at him. "Oh, thanks for asking, Dave. I guess I'm a little nervous, wondering if it's still right for me to wear a white dress after - well, you know about the history Alvin and I had...especially with Uncle Giorgio."

Dave tilted her chin up so that he could look into her eyes. "Oh, Brittany, it's OK. I love you, and I've loved you for years as if you were already my daughter. And I know you and Alvin love each other, and you know that I love both of you. Not that I think there is anything that I can say to magically make you stop doubting yourself in this matter. But you look very beautiful, and I can't wait to see Alvin's face when he sees you as his bride. If it makes you feel any better, he still has similar doubts about wearing a white tux. But I assured him that plenty of people...with more complicated histories...have still had white weddings regardless. Believe me, besides you and Alvin, I have only known four other couples who were so perfect for each other." He counted off with his fingers. "My parents, Simon and Jeanette, Theodore and Eleanor, and myself and your step-mom and wedding and reception planner Katy Perry-Seville."

He hugged Brittany close as she started smiling again. "Thanks, Dave. I love you, too...Daddy!" She pecked a kiss on his cheek.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door as Katy Perry entered, holding a tablet and wearing a blue-tooth headset, and a nineteen-sixties style dress with white, aqua, pink, and purple stripes. "Hey, Darling!" She smiled at Dave, then at the girls. "Are you ready, my girls?"

"Ready!" The sisters called out in unison.

Katy led them out into the hall and let them all take a peek through the curtained window into the auditorium. Dave could see his three boys all standing next to each other in their white tuxedos, Simon on the left of the groom's family side in his blue glasses frames and blue bow tie, Theodore on the right in a green vest and a green bow tie, and Alvin in the middle of them with his red bow tie and of course, his red baseball cap. Dave laughed to himself as he shook his head and rolled his eyes at the fact that Alvin was still wearing his cap to his wedding. "Oh, Alvin..."

Dave heard Brittany chuckle next to him, "That's my Alvin!"

Dave laughed as he turned to her. "He's your problem now, Brittany. Do you still want to go through with this?"

"More than ever!" Brittany smiled.

Dave linked his left arm with Jeanette's arm, his right arm to Brittany's arm, while Eleanor's arm was linked to Brittany's right arm. He shared another smile with his dream-wife Katy, off to the side, as the doors opened so that the wedding guests and the grooms could see Dave walking his three daughters down the aisle towards his three sons. Then he woke up.

"This is fun, Dave! I feel like I'm getting the hang of this." It was Brittany back in the present day, letting go of Dave's hand as she started swimming by herself.

Dave blinked as his mind came back to reality from wandering in the memory of his dream. "Look at you go, Brittany! You're doing it!" He snapped a few pictures of her with his camera.

"Way to go, Britt!" Eleanor cheered as Alvin and Theodore applauded.

Brittany swam up to the float and took hold of the side of it. "Whew! That was fun, but I'm ready for a break. Where's my floatie-vest?" She laughed as she looked up at Alvin.

He was flexing his biceps while he sported Brittany's unfastened pink vest. He growled in a voice like a body-builder with an Eastern-European accent. "Look at my _beeg_ muscles. I'm the Alvin-ator! And I'm going to _pomp_ you _op_!" The others laughed at his antics, and Dave even got some snapshots of his poses.

Brittany pulled herself onto the float and turned around so she could sit by Alvin again. Theodore and Alvin helped her, since it wasn't as easy to get onto the float while laughing as hard as she was.

Eleanor got Dave's attention. "May _I_ try swimming without the floatie, too?"

"Of course, Eleanor." Dave unfastened her vest's buckle in the back and helped her remove it. He then proceeded to hold onto her hands so he could dance with her. The three kids on the float laughed and cheered for her.

"Oh man..." Brittany looked at her wet ponytail. "I got my hair all wet. Oh well."

"It's OK," Alvin consoled her. "I don't usually count it as swimming unless all of me gets wet."

Theodore adjusted himself on the float so that he was lying on his belly, propped up on his elbows. "Wanna know a fun way of getting your hair wet?" He gripped the edge of the float and dipped his head face-first underwater for a brief second. When he pulled his head up, most of his hair - still somewhat curly after last night's "makeover" - had been washed to the front. He gathered that hair in his hands and flipped it up to the top of his head so that it left a large curl framing his forehead. "It's the 'George Washington' look!"

Brittany and Alvin both laughed, while Brittany moved around to lie down next to Theodore. "I wanna try that!" She moved her golden strawberry-blonde bangs to the top of her head after wetting them. "Just call me 'Martha Washington'."

As Alvin did his hair like theirs, Dave laughed and snapped a picture of the three of them sporting their new hairstyles. He felt a tap on his back, so he turned around.

It was Simon wearing a diving mask with a snorkel over his glasses. "Um, Dave, Jeanette wanted to ask you something."

"Oh, sure." Dave snapped a picture of Simon snorkeling along the surface as he headed towards the shallow end where Jeanette was waiting.

"Dave..." the shy girl chipmunk began. "I was wondering if you could help me learn to swim. It looks fun the way you've been teaching my sisters. Could you teach me like that?"

"Of course I will, Jeanette." Dave held out his hands to her with his palms up. She took hold of his hands and let him lead her around the shallow end.

"Dave," Eleanor swam up to him. "Will you show me how to go off the diving board?"

Dave glanced at Eleanor. "I can help you with that after I help Jeanette swim. But if you want to try sooner than that, Alvin or Simon can help show you."

"OK, Dave." Eleanor paddled away from him and returned to the foam rubber float where the others were lounging. She looked up at her newly adoptive "big brother" with her aqua-green eyes as big as she could make them, and her lower lip protruding. "Oh, Alvin..."

* * *

 **A/N:** I had fun making Dave dream that he was married to Katy Perry. Alvin's body-builder accent is supposed to be a mixed impression of Jean Claude Van Damme, Arnold Schwartzenegger, and Hanz and Franz (I at least think that's how they are all spelled). Sorry it has been so long since I have posted a chapter, but December is a busy time of year.


	17. The Washing

**Chip-ergarten**

 **About This Story:** The Chipmunks start Kindgarten and meet some mysterious new friends, the Chipettes. Some similarities may overlap with "The Squeakquel", only they are in Kindergarten. Warning: some chapters contain some harsher adult(-ish) themes, even though age-wise they are 5. I don't own any part of the Chipmunk franchise, just borrowing them from Nickelodeon, Janice Karman,  & Ross Bagdasarian, their family, & their company.

 **About This Chapter:** Rated PG-13(T), due to mentions of nudity and anatomy (male/female), but nothing more than the five-year-old level of it; and some hints of romance later on

 **Pairings:** Alvin/Brittany, Simon/Jeanette, Theodore/Eleanor

* * *

 **17\. The Washing**

"Alvin, I'm starting this bath water for the _girls_. They're our guests, so Dave says they get to take a bath first. So put your trunks back on!" Simon rolled his eyes at his younger brother, who was wearing his red and white striped pool towel hanging from around his shoulders like a king's robe, but the other edge of it was dragging on the ground, covering Alvin from the neck down. Simon's blue and white striped pool towel was neatly folded and tied around his waist like a toga, but he was still wearing his swim trunks underneath, so the towel only functioned to keep his damp trunks from dripping all over the floor.

"Geez, Simon, I'm still covered with my towel." Alvin scowled defensively as he tossed his wet trunks into the sink with one hand while holding the towel closed with the other hand. "Dave knows I like to air-dry. But what's the point if I'm just gonna take a bath after drying off?"

Simon groaned again, since reasoning with Alvin was pointless. "Not you too, Theodore!" He caught sight of his other younger brother wrapped in a green and white striped pool towel in a way similar to Alvin's style as he tossed his and Eleanor's swimwear in the sink with Alvin's.

"What?" Theodore sniffled as he motioned to Eleanor, who was covered in her aqua pool towel with white polka dots wrapped around her like a sarong. "I was helping Eleanor bring the girls' bath toys in here. Then I was gonna air-dry too. Oh yeah, Ellie, do you like lots of bubbles in your bath? I like playing with bubbles. It's so much fun! You could even pretend it's foamy topping for your tea party."

Eleanor giggled before she lightly coughed. "I don't know. I've never had time to play with bubbles in my baths before. Ian and Giorgio just use dishwasher detergent on us. But I'd trust you better to know the perfect recipe for a bath."

Brittany shuddered as she tossed hers and Jeanette's swimwear into the sink with the other wet suits. Her pink pool towel with white polka dots was wrapped around her and grazing the floor like a strapless evening gown. "And that dishwasher detergent always manages to dry out my sensitive skin, which isn't exactly made of stainless steel."

Jeanette sighed on Brittany's other side. She looked like a Greek goddess with her purple pool towel with white polka dots draped over one shoulder while the hem of it lightly skimmed the floor. "To think that bottle of detergent even says 'Not Tested On Animals'. But I guess it is now. So much for 'cruelty-free', huh?" She chuckled along with the others.

"Well, this bath will be much better, and more chipmunk-friendly and chipmunk-approved." Simon smiled over at her. "My brothers and I will be out of you girls' way as soon as I get the water between ninety-two and ninety-nine degrees Fahrenheit and to a depth of four-point-five to seven-point-five inches from above the drain."

"Ooh...The drain..." Jeanette whimpered. "As clumsy as I can be, I'm afraid I'll get my tail stuck in it, just like it happens in Ian's kitchen sink."

"That happened to me, too - several times." Theodore admitted with another sniffle. "I even almost drowned once because the water was still filling the sink, and Ian or Giorgio stepped out of the room to answer a phone call or something. I panicked and passed out as the water overtook me, but my brothers told me later that Alvin turned off the water and pulled me out of the sink with the drain strainer still attached to my tail. You know, he was full of a 'drain-o-land' like a mommy who can lift a car off a baby. Right, Simon?"

Simon chuckled. "It's actually _adrenaline_ , but, yeah, other than that your story is accurate."

Alvin smiled with a faked sense of modesty. "Oh, shucks. But, Teddy-Boy, please continue telling the girls how that strong, athletic, handsome, and heroic brother of yours saved you from drowning in the sink on that fateful day, when your life was nearly cut short in your prime - "

Theodore giggled. "Well, Alvin's part was done, so Simon brought me back with CPR. But I'm grateful to both of my brothers for what they did. I think we were three at the time."

"Wow, so you even know CPR?" Jeanette glanced at Simon with a smile that showed she was not as worried as she was earlier.

Simon gave her another reassuring smile. "Well, at that time with Theodore, it wasn't completely CPR - just the artificial respiration worked. But, you know, whatever it takes for my brothers." He shrugged humbly. "And I was going to say earlier that you're OK in this bathtub. Our bathtub drain is not like a kitchen sink drain. You won't get your tail stuck in this one."

"Not that he's bragging about it," Theodore continued. "Since we're family and all, he didn't think twice about the mouth-to-mouth ' _restitution_ ' or ' _resting-station_ ' or - " he didn't finish, since he suddenly sneezed violently.

Simon and Jeanette patted him on the back and helped steady him from falling over. The others all exchanged a mixed chorus of "bless you" and "gesundheit". As he thanked them for their concern, Eleanor rubbed his shoulder. "Theo, I can't help but think that you should join us for a bath. I mean, the bath water might warm you up, and the tub looks big enough for more than three of us. It's just that, you've taken good care of me this week by making sure I always had something for lunch. Let me take care of you, now."

Simon glanced into the tub as he turned off the water. "She does have a point, Theodore. You've been shivering ever since we got out of the pool to play in the sandbox after lunch, and your lips are still blue from when we ran through the sprinklers. And there are plenty of bubbles in there to keep you covered, if modesty is an issue at all for you."

Theodore shrugged. "Thanks, Eleanor and Simon, but I'm still not sure how I feel about...being the only boy in there..."

"We'll close our eyes to respect your privacy, if it makes you feel better." Eleanor suggested.

"Me and Simon can also join you." Alvin offered. "The tub is big enough, and we are all friends. Just us chipmunks."

Simon sighed as he slipped off his trunks from under his towel toga. "Oh well, I guess we'll be saving water this way. Although it _is_ taking our friendship to a new level."

As Simon put his trunks in the sink with the rest of the swimwear, Alvin giggled as he leaned over to Brittany. "Whaddaya say we lose these towels, Britt?"

Brittany giggled. "You first, _muchacho_."

"No way..." Alvin laughed. "One of my lifelong dreams on my bucket list is to see a naked girl in person. Looks like today is my lucky day to finally see what kinda penis they have."

Simon groaned. "Ugh! For goodness sakes, Alvin, girls don't have a penis, they have a vagina."

Alvin rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Simon! I've never seen one of those, since I've never seen a naked girl." He sighed and shook his head as he turned back to Brittany. "Ugh!But anyways, I'm hoping to see what a vagina looks like, and if I see any naked girls, I was at least hoping...that you would be my first."

Brittany giggled as she turned to Alvin. "You know, Alvin, I've often wanted to see what a boy looks like naked. I've heard talk of penises from various sources, but I've never seen what the hype was all about. I'd like for the first naked boy I see to be you, Alvin. So go ahead and feel free to drop the towel before I 'accidentally' yank it down for you." She saw Alvin slowly backing away from her, holding his towel tightly shut. In a more appeasing sing-song voice, she added, "I'll show you mine if you show me yours..."

"Wait, guys!" Simon intervened. "Let's be reasonable. Before anyone feels violated... Just count to three and synchronize dropping your towels."

"OK." They agreed as they stepped towards each other to where they stood facing each other about a foot away. Their hands gripped the edges of their towels nervously as they counted together, "One...Two...Three...Go!" They finally threw off the towels. Time seemed to stand still for a few seconds as everyone in the bathroom either gasped or released a breath they had been holding. At first, all eyes were on Alvin and Brittany, who stood motionless, except for their eyes, which darted up and down as they curiously and nervously checked out what the other had just uncovered. They almost seemed like two complete strangers who were meeting for the first time, or two wild animals who were sniffing each other as they encroached on each other's territory. Instead of words, they seemed to mumble some gibberish "umm" and "uhh". The corners of their lips gradually curled into smiles as they got more used to the idea of being naked in front of each other and their siblings.

Once Alvin finally felt like talking, he chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Uhh, sorry for staring, Brittany, I almost didn't recognize you in that naked girl costume. OK...so... _that's_ what a vagina looks like..." He may have seemed a little disappointed, but he was actually more relieved to know that a vagina wasn't some kind of scary nuclear device to be feared - at least not his best friend Brittany's anatomy. He knew she was harmless enough.

Brittany raised an eyebrow and giggled nervously. "OK... So, umm... _that's_ what a penis looks like... OK... Moving on..." She seemed a little unimpressed, but she was still quite fascinated by the anatomy of her best friend Alvin. Although at the same time, she tried not to stare or make him feel any more put on the spot than he already was.

"Right..." Alvin held out the palm of his left hand toward her. "I guess now I'll show you a good way to get in the bathtub. We'll probably need to help Theodore and Eleanor get in, too." She accepted his offered hand and let him lead her over to the edge of the shallow end of the tub where there was a stepping stool. Alvin let go of her hand to sit on the corner at the back of the tub. "Check this out, it's like a built-in slide. Wheee!"

Brittany laughed watching him slide and splash into the bath water, almost getting buried in the bubbles. "That looks like fun! I wanna try!" She sat on the corner of the tub as she had seen Alvin do before she slid into the water to join him. "Wheee!"

"Ugh!" Simon groaned. "Just try not too splash too much and make the floor slippery. Try to keep the water in the tub. OK?" He gathered Alvin's and Brittany's discarded pool towels to spread on the floor surrounding the tub.

"Don't get your tail in a bunch, Si!" Alvin giggled. "Keep your fur on!"

"That slide looks like fun!" Eleanor giggled. "Mind if I join you guys next?"

"Come on in, Eleanor!" Alvin invited her.

Eleanor untied her towel-sarong and handed it to Simon, since he already found a place on the floor to spread it. He and Theodore helped her get up into the corner of the tub so she could slide in, while Alvin and Brittany helped catch her. "Wheee! Oh, the water is nice and warm! And I like the bubbles already, Theodore!"

Theodore cleared his throat as he took off his towel and handed it to Simon. "I'm coming in, too!" Simon and Jeanette gave him a boost so he could slide in and join the others. "Wheee!"

Jeanette laughed as she heard him splash. She shared a shrug with Simon as they both realized they were next. It was almost as though they shared a psychic connection, since Jeanette was able to find her own place on the floor to spread her towel next to Simon's.

"Jeanette, you read my mind. You totally get me!" Simon laughed.

She motioned to her glasses. "Oh, should I take these off and set them somewhere next to yours?"

"You can leave them on if you want." Simon explained. "I do it all the time. I mean, we're mostly just sitting in water that comes up to our ribs. I'd probably feel even more naked without them, if that's possible." They shared a chuckle. "Anyways, would you like a boost to get to the slide?"

"OK, sure." Jeanette shrugged. She saw Simon link the fingers of his hands together to make a stepping stool. Placing her left hand on his right shoulder, and her right hand on top of the edge of the tub, she stepped onto his makeshift step with her left foot. Soon, she was sitting at the top of the slide. She glanced down at Simon. "Thanks, Simon! How will you get up here?"

"Like this..." Simon took two strategic preparatory steps before he jumped onto the tub's edge. First, he had to swing his feet up so that he could climb up to a sitting position next to Jeanette. Alvin stood below him to help steady him from inside the tub. "Thanks for spotting me, Alvin!"

"No problem, Bro!" Alvin smiled. "And now, you guys are ready to slide in."

Simon motioned over to Jeanette. "Well, you're already there, and since it's ladies first..."

As Jeanette beamed at Simon, Alvin got the others to chanting and cheering for her. "Jean-ette...Jean-ette...Jean-ette...!"

"Wheee!" She squealed as she slid in with a splash.

"Yay!" The others cheered as she threw her arms up triumphantly as she landed. Then they all cheered for Simon as he got into place. "Si-mon...Si-mon...Si-mon...!"

"Geronimo!" Simon cheered as he splashed into the water.

"Yay!" The others cheered for him.

He stood up smiling, but continued glancing around at the water. "Hmm, the water seems deeper than usual..." After scratching his chin for a moment he snapped his fingers with an epiphany. "I know why - the ideal depth of the bathtub water is calculated based on the water displacement of three of us, not six of us. I'll have to let out some water so Theodore and Eleanor can sit comfortably without drowning. Thanks to Archimedes and his discovery..."

"Really?" Alvin asked. "When did that owl on ' _Sword In The Stone_ ' say that? I don't remember that scene."

On Simon's way to the drain to let out some water, he and Jeanette glanced at each other and started laughing about Alvin's comment. "OK," Simon began glancing between Jeanette and Theodore, "I'm about to let some water out of the tub so we can all sit comfortably. Please make sure you know where your tail is at all times. I know your previous experiences with the drain are still traumatic for you, so I'll stay between the rest of you and the drain. Theodore, you and Eleanor let me know the moment when you can sit down with your heads and shoulders above the water."

"OK!" The two little chipmunks nodded. Theodore continued directing his brother. "...And...right...there. Perfect, Simon!"

Simon still sat closest to the drain, up to his chest in a slurry of water and bubbles. The brothers were sitting with their backs to the back wall, from the drain to the shallower end in order of decreasing height. The sisters sat facing them staggering their feet between the brothers so that Jeanette was between Simon and Alvin, while Eleanor was between Theodore and the "slide".

Jeanette smiled across at Simon. "Wow, I'm enjoying sitting in this nice, warm bath. And it's so bubbly! At least here I don't feel like Ian is trying to scrub me down like he thinks I'm heavy-duty cookware in the kitchen sink."

Simon returned her smile. "Yeah, you're more like fine porcelain - so elegant and pretty. Ian still needs to learn how to be gentle."

"Aww...that's so sweet of you, Simon." Jeanette giggled.

"Ha, ha, ha! That's so funny, Theodore!" The others could hear Eleanor giggling at the other end of the tub. They all looked toward Theodore, who was gathering handfuls of bubbles and smearing them on his chin so that it looked like a thick, white beard.

In a goofy voice as low-pitched as he could manage, Theodore chuckled, "Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!"

While the others laughed, Alvin explained to them, "Says the one of us who nearly wets his pants with an anxiety attack right before our yearly picture in Santa's lap."

"Kids? Where are you?" Dave called from outside the bathroom.

"In here, Dave!" Simon spoke up.

As Dave entered the bathroom, he blinked in astonishment at seeing all six of them in the tub together. "Oh...OK...I thought the girls would take a bath first, since they're our guests this weekend. So you can all fit in the tub together? That's convenient." He noticed the pile of swimsuits in the sink nearest to the tub. "Is anyone still wearing their suit?"

"Nope, we're all having one big naked party!" Alvin giggled.

"OK..." Dave laughed awkwardly. "I guess that means I can hang these suits outside to dry, while I also lay out your pajamas." He paused over the sink before collecting the swimsuits. "Before I do that, you guys might all want to play with the bath toys and the washcloths." His boys happily perked up at hearing this, and the girls seemed curious.

He soon passed around the washcloths, which were all solid in each chipmunk's favorite color. He was also making sure everyone had access to a bar of soap or a bottle of kid-friendly body wash. After ensuring that all the kids could completely wash themselves with their washcloths, Dave passed around the bath toys. So that the kids would all sleep well that night, he even added a handful of lavender bath salts to the bath water. For the next half-hour or so, he was in and out of the bathroom, taking the pile of suits in the sink to hang outside to dry, and fetching pajamas and underwear for each child, including the disposable night briefs for Alvin and Brittany.

Every time he checked on the kids, they were having fun playing with their bath toys. Alvin was introducing Brittany to his shark, Chomper, who Alvin was making bark like a puppy and wag his tail. Brittany had a mermaid princess doll she named Lady Charlotte, who liked to ride on Chomper's back like a horsey, and pet him and rub his belly like a puppy.

Theodore played with his ducky, Paddles, and let Eleanor also play with him, while Eleanor had a plastic teapot and six little plastic teacups that she passed around to share with the others. Every once in a while, she would ask if anyone needed a refill on tea, and she was thrilled to play hostess and pour tea for everyone. Simon had to remind everyone to only pretend to drink the "tea", but not to drink it for real, since it was the bubbly bath water they all shared.

Meanwhile, Simon also shared his toy boat and some sea creature and dinosaur squirtie-toys with Jeanette. Her favorite so far was this sea dinosaur that looked like a cute and friendly cartoon version of Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster. She had fun pretending Nessie had magic powers and could enchant whatever she squirted with the water from her mouth - the boat, the washcloth, the bar of soap. Nessie was basically a magical water-breathing dragon who could save the other sea creatures and dinosaurs from storms on the high seas. Simon noted that it never occurred to him before that any of his dinosaurs or sea creatures had any personality - or even a gender - whatsoever, so he thanked Jeanette for enhancing them with more depth and character development. He liked Nessie even more once Jeanette projected some of her own mystical personality onto her.

"Now, I'm going to shampoo everyone's hair." Dave explained the next time he came in the bathroom to stay for a while. "I'll start at this end of the tub..." He moved over to Simon and started lathering the shampoo into his hair. Even though he wanted to serve the girls first, since they were guests, he came to notice that the girls seemed to feel more comfortable trying "new" stuff when they saw him demonstrate on his boys first.

Simon started to remove his glasses so Dave could wash the shampoo out of his hair, but instead Dave moved on to Jeanette. "Dave, weren't you going to wash out the shampoo?"

Dave explained as he took Jeanette's hair out of its bun, "It's OK, Simon. I'm kinda trying something different, where I'm going to put everyone's shampoo on, letting it sit a few minutes, then go back and wash it out." Once he saw Simon give an understanding nod, Dave then glanced at Jeanette's hair. "Wow, Jeanette, I didn't realize that your hair was so long. It's so pretty. Do you ever wear it down?" Almost six inches of the ends of it were floating in the water when he let it down. It possibly came down to the base of her tail, if she had been standing up.

Jeanette beamed. "Thank you, Dave. I usually wear it up because it's so long, and Ian doesn't usually help me take care of it. He doesn't have the patience to wash it and comb through it, except maybe the night before a performance. Brittany has helped me with it in the past, when she isn't too busy. Sometimes she sings while she fixes my hair, and sometimes I read while she works. It's some good sister-bonding time for both of us. She was the one who figured out that my hair is easier to manage if I keep it up."

"Wow, she does a great job with that!" Dave chuckled. "And, by the way, you seemed to be having fun in the pool today, Jeanette. I mean, I got plenty of pictures of you as you learned to swim, first with your floatie-vest, then without, and some other pictures of you snorkeling and spelunking underwater with Simon. Did you have as much fun as you looked like you were having?"

"I sure did!" Jeanette sighed happily. "Thanks for helping me get more comfortable with the water, Dave! I feel like you've really opened up a new world for me to explore."

"Anytime, Jeanette! It was my pleasure!" Dave smiled at her as he moved on to Alvin's hair. "And, Alvin, you did such a good job helping me today as you helped teach Eleanor to go off the diving board. And thank you for helping Theodore on the diving board, too. Both of them seemed to have fun with you and Brittany. How did you like having a little sister?"

"Eleanor was a lot of fun!" Alvin nodded over at her. "She was a natural on the diving board, and in the water in general. And Brittany even taught me some cool dives she learned while watching some diving championships on TV. She was a natural, too. She made the dives look so easy and graceful. But those dives sure didn't look the same when I tried them. Ha, ha!"

Dave laughed as he moved to Brittany. "And, Brittany, I feel unworthy of shampooing your hair, since you are the hair guru around here." He paused as she laughed with him. "But is it OK with you if I take your hair down for some shampooing?"

"Sure, Dave." She smiled as she let Dave undo her ponytail. Her freed hair tumbled down to her mid-back, barely grazing the water. "I played with your hair last night, so I guess it's only fair to let you play with mine. After all, I don't want the chlorine in the pool to damage my hair. That was why I didn't want to get my hair wet at first. But once it happened, it wasn't so bad. I even liked doing my hair in the 'Martha Washington' look with Theodore and Alvin. That was a lot of fun!"

"I'm glad you had fun today, Brittany. I have several good pictures of you swimming and going off the diving board. You looked like you had a good time." Dave chuckled as he moved to Theodore. "And I got some good pictures of you going off the diving board today too, Theodore. You looked like you were having fun. And I'm glad you got comfortable going off the diving board without me there to catch you every time."

"Thanks, Dave!" Theodore giggled with a slight cough and a few sniffles. "I had fun with Alvin helping me dive. I figured if Eleanor could dive without you being right there to catch her, then I could too. Once in a while I still got tired swimming around without my floatie-vest. But I was having so much fun with Alvin, Eleanor, and Brittany, that I didn't think about it as much."

Dave used the back of his hand to feel his son's forehead. "Are you feeling OK, Theodore? You sound like you're coming down with something."

"I feel OK, Dave." Theodore still sniffled. "Maybe my allergies are acting up a little, since we were outside for a long time. But Eleanor said that a bath might help warm me up, and she was right. I do feel better in the nice, warm bath."

"OK, Theodore, I'm glad the bath is helping. We might still give you some Children's Benadryl tonight to help you sleep without sniffling, coughing, or sneezing. Let me know if you feel any worse. OK, son?" As Dave saw Theodore nod and smile, he moved on to Eleanor. "Eleanor, do you mind if I take down your pigtails for now, so I can shampoo your hair?"

"Sure, Dave." Eleanor smiled up at him. Her hair barely came down to her shoulders. "I had a great time at the pool today, too! Thanks for teaching me how to swim. It was so much fun!"

"I'm glad to hear that, Eleanor!" Dave smiled at her. "I got some good pictures of you swimming around and going off the diving board. And I'm glad you suggested that Theodore join you for a nice, warm bath. It seems to be helping a little with his allergies."

"Well, he's been taking care of me this week, and making sure I had something for lunch every day." She shrugged before she released a small sneeze. "Uh-oh!" She gasped. "I think I might have some allergies, too."

"Bless you." Dave and some of the others said. "Oh, no problem." Dave continued. "I have enough Children's Benadryl for you to use, as well."

"Thanks, Dave." She sniffled.

Dave patted her shoulder as he looked around the tub at all the kids with their hair all lathered in shampoo. He chuckled to himself. "Nobody move. I'll be right back to wash the shampoo out of everyone's hair." With that, he ducked out of the bathroom for a few seconds. When he came back, he had the camera in his hands. "Sorry, kids, this is too cute, and I just couldn't resist."

"Is this the _real_ reason why you left the shampoo in our hair, Dave?" Simon asked with a chuckle.

"To be completely honest...yes." Dave faked a guilty expression. He chuckled as he snapped a few group pictures of the kids, while ensuring that the camera was angled in such a way to keep the pictures as G-rated as possible. And just in case, he made sure the kids stayed covered with masses of bubbles and washcloths. " _This might make some good material for the Seville family Christmas card; or maybe even in twelve years, for the kids' high school graduation slide show._ " He thought to himself. After he washed the shampoo out of everyone's hair, he took some pics of the kids playing with their bath toys, and some while they pretended to have a tea party. One where they were all toasting with their teacups, and another where they pretended to sip from the teacups, where everyone's pinky finger was out.

After a few more minutes of letting the kids play, Dave asked, "Who is ready to get out of the tub and into their nice and warm, cozy jammies?"

Alvin's face lit up. "Me! Oh, Dave, can we do a 'Daring Davey Stunt' as you get me out?"

Dave laughed. "Absolutely, Alvin. Would you like for me to flip you, son?"

Alvin nodded enthusiastically. "Check this out, girls, this is so much fun!" He leaned forward while Dave placed his hands on Alvin's back at waist-level, with his thumbs pointed down towards Alvin's tail. "Wheee!" Alvin squealed as his father flipped him in the air in a forwards somersault. "That's so much fun, Dave!" He laughed while resting on his back in Dave's arms.

Once Dave pat-dried Alvin in his solid red bath towel and dressed him in his pajamas - complete with his disposable night briefs underneath, he looked at the five chipmunks left in the tub and asked, "Would anyone else like to try flipping like that?"

Eleanor waved her hand eagerly. "Ooh, ooh! I want to!"

Dave chuckled. "Alright, Eleanor, here's how we do it when I flip Alvin..."

* * *

Much later that night, after all the Chipettes were snuggled into bed beside the Chipmunks, Brittany gasped as she woke up startled from a night terror. She sat up and looked around the dark room, still panting heavily. She sighed with relief once she realized everyone else was still asleep, and she was still in Alvin's bed, so she tried to lie back down and go back to sleep.

Alvin sleepily rolled over to his left side to face her and whispered, "Are you OK, Britt?"

Brittany looked over at him in the dark. "I think so. Thanks for asking."

Alvin patted her arm. "Did you have another nightmare about Ian?"

"I guess..." Brittany sighed. "I don't really remember. But that's OK, whatever nightmare I had is over now. I feel much better waking up and seeing you, knowing that I'm with my sisters safe at your home with you, and your brothers, and Dave. Thanks again for having us sleepover. I like your house, and I really love Dave. He's been wonderful, and he's a lot of fun!" She paused before a slight giggle. "And I've never had so much fun taking a bath before."

Alvin joined her in giggling. "Yeah, bath time was even more fun sharing it with you and your sisters. And I'm not just saying that because I liked seeing you naked. I mean, the 'naked tea party' was fun and all..." He nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "But, I guess what really got to me, surprising to me as well, was seeing your hair down. It was just...so beautiful. You're so beautiful, Brittany..." He was partly relieved that it was dark in the room, which helped hide the nervousness of his confession. He didn't really understand why he felt so nervous about telling his friend Brittany that he thought she was beautiful. Was this crossing some kind of line? Was he allowed to tell her this? And if not, why not? It was true. Absentmindedly, he started stroking her golden strawberry-blonde locks next to her left ear.

Brittany hummed happily and placed her left hand on top of Alvin's hand that continued to pet her hair. "Oh, Alvin, that's so sweet of you to say that. You're so cute!" She giggled.

"Can I tell you a secret, Britt?" Alvin whispered to her again. Even though it was dark, he could see her nodding her head. "I mean, I feel safe telling you this since you saw me naked today, and you knew about my bed-wetting problem this past week. Anyways, Dave got me these disposable underwear things that I've been wearing at night. Sure, they kinda feel like diapers, but at least there is no danger of me peeing in my bed while you're sleeping over. I mean, if my bed is wet in the morning, it won't be me. Please don't tell anyone, since it's kinda embarrassing."

Brittany smiled. "Well, it won't be me peeing in the bed either, since I've been wearing those disposable undies at night too. I'll admit, they are kinda comfortable. But as you know, there's kind of a social stigma about wearing them, and others - not our siblings, but other people - would make fun of us for sure, and say that we were wearing diapers. And the even sadder thing for me is that the disposable undies I'm wearing are made more for boys. So it's like I'm wearing boys' underwear. That's another level of embarrassing! I mean, how would _you_ feel if you had to wear girls' underwear? So...yeah...I'll keep this secret, since I share it with you."

Alvin blinked in surprise. "Wow. I didn't realize how much we have in common."

"I know, it's almost scary." Brittany giggled. She realized she was still holding Alvin's hand from earlier, so she gave it a grateful and reassuring squeeze.

Alvin rolled over some more and pulled her close to him in a hug. As he held her, he pecked a kiss on her cheek. "Your secret is safe with me, Brittany, as I hope you and your sisters feel safe with me and my family." He rubbed her back as he continued to hold her. "I just - I just don't want anything to happen to you, Brittany. And I'm sorry if I also don't look forward to Monday when you have to leave. I'd hate to think that you would ever have to go back to Ian. You're my best friend, and I love you so much, Brittany...My Beautiful Princess."

She leaned into his embrace, returning the kiss to his cheek. "Oh, Alvin, I don't want to leave, either. You're my best friend, and I love you too, Alvin...My Handsome Hero." She slept snuggled safe in her friend's embrace the rest of that night with the bittersweet realization that each passing day was a few more hours closer to when they would be separated.

* * *

 **A/N:** OK, so I hopefully kept the co-ed bath scene in good taste. In some of my other fanfics where they are older, they make references to taking baths together when they were five, so finally it gets included in a story. Hey, they are at that age where they realize there are obvious gender differences, but because they are all friends (and practically family), they can get past the awkwardness of it (and Dave helps). I'll admit I shared baths with my brother at that age. It helped save water, and at the time we thought nothing else of it, as awkward as it is to think about it ten (or thirty!) years later. Another fun thing to do is to see the contrast of this chapter with chapters 8 and 9.

Jeanette with her pool towel draped over one shoulder like a Greek goddess brings to mind what she wore in the 1980s cartoon episode "Sploosh" when she was an undercover mermaid. Brittany also called Alvin "muchacho" (in an annoyed manner) in the Nickelodeon cartoon episode "Principal Interest". Archimedes was Merlin's owl companion in the Disney animated move "Sword In The Stone". Sheldon Cooper told the story behind Archimedes displacing water in the bathtub and discovering that water displacement was a way used to find if a king's crown was made of pure gold in an episode of "The Big Bang Theory". In Nickelodeon cartoon episodes "Mystic Mountain" and "Knights", Theodore also wears a white beard (sort of a nod to that). Since the girls wear their hair up so much, it's hard to tell how long their hair actually is, so I was just going out on a limb and guessing. In the episode "Double Trouble" Alvin's clone admits that he thinks Brittany is beautiful, and in "Secret Admirer" (and also in "Chipwrecked") Alvin admits that he thinks Brittany is "the pretty one" of the group.


	18. Home Sick Or Homesick?

**Chip-ergarten**

 **About This Story:** The Chipmunks start Kindgarten and meet some mysterious new friends, the Chipettes. Some similarities may overlap with "The Squeakquel", only they are in Kindergarten. Warning: some chapters contain some harsher adult(-ish) themes, even though age-wise they are 5. I don't own any part of the Chipmunk franchise, just borrowing them from Nickelodeon, Janice Karman,  & Ross Bagdasarian, their family, & their company.

 **About This Chapter:** Rated PG, for mentions of vomiting and illness

 **Pairings:** Alvin/Brittany, Simon/Jeanette, Theodore/Eleanor

* * *

 **18\. Home Sick Or Homesick?**

"That was great, kids!" Dave applauded from his piano bench in the music room of the Seville house. It was Sunday afternoon, and the chipmunk children were having some rehearsal time after church and after lunch. The Chipmunks and Chipettes had each performed a sample song for each other, before Dave wanted to try an experiment with having them sing something together. "I know that...the girls' current manager may never agree to letting the six of you sing together, but that really was nice - especially for a first try. I hope we get to do it more often."

Simon smiled in agreement. "I'll admit, harmonizing with six of us is different from the usual three-part harmony with just my brothers. But I really liked it for a change."

Jeanette chuckled next to him. "I sure liked that that better, too. Although I thought the most challenging thing about it was having two lead singers _both_ trying to be divas." She nodded with a smile over to Alvin and Brittany, as though trying not to giggle.

"But I was better!" Brittany added with a giggle as she flirtatiously tickled Alvin's neck.

Alvin giggled as he tried wrestling away from her. "No fair! My partner in the lead vocals is prettier than me. I was distracted."

Brittany slightly blushed. "Aww! Really?" She smiled coyly at Alvin. "Well, I can't argue with you there. But I'll admit I wasn't top of my game there. I mean, I just heard your singing voice in person for the first time, and I thought I would melt - I was busy swoonin' from your croonin'."

"Oh yeah?" Alvin smiled back at her. "That was my first time to hear _your_ singing voice, and I'm still reelin' from the feelin'."

"Oh, that's gold, Alvin and Brittany!" Dave spoke up. "Maybe both of you can help me with writing a song that you can sing together - a song about this very experience of hearing each other sing for the first time. And about our bands joining forces. How does that sound?"

"I'm in!" Brittany cheered.

"Yeah, me too!" Alvin added. "But first, we want to take a break while you give us a ride on your feet."

Dave shrugged with a smile as he got up from the piano bench and let Alvin stand on top of his left foot while holding onto his left leg below the knee. Brittany followed by standing on top of Dave's right foot and holding on right below his knee. "OK, we can take a fifteen-minute break so you kids can all have a five-minute ride." He started walking around, but ensuring that both Alvin and Brittany were still hanging on.

"Yay! Davey Shoe Time!" Alvin squealed excitedly.

Simon and Jeanette cheered for them and laughed along until it was their turn for "Davey Shoe Time". Once it was finally their turn, Dave danced around the living room to give them an enjoyable ride.

"Thanks, Dave, this is so much fun!" Jeanette gave Dave's leg a hugging squeeze as she held on tightly.

"You're welcome, Jeanette." Dave leaned over to rub on her back. "I'm so glad you are having a good time - not just with 'Davey Shoe Time', but this entire weekend in general."

Of the three girls, Jeanette started to seem like the "Daddy's Girl" of them. Dave could tell she was thriving on the positive attention from a gentle father-figure in her life. He sighed as he recalled that morning, while he was getting ready for church, when he heard a knock at his bedroom door.

Clad in his pajamas and bathrobe, and with shaving cream covering the lower half of his face, Dave opened the door to see Jeanette wearing her new light purple sundress.

"Dave, I'm not sure if I got this right..." She glanced down at the dress, which was on backwards. "I wanted to wear the new dress you got for me, since I might get cold in the skimpy dresses Ian told me to pack. You said it might be cold in the church building, and I've never been. So, will you help me?" Once she actually looked up at him, she asked, "Oh, is that what you're wearing to church? I suddenly feel overdressed."

Dave chuckled. "Oh, this isn't what I'm wearing to church, I'm still getting ready. But of course I'll help you, Jeanette. Come on in." He let the girl chipmunk sit on the edge of his bed as he helped straighten her dress. "There you go, Jeanette. Do Brittany and Eleanor need any help?"

"I doubt it." She shrugged. "What is that white stuff on your face? Is church like a costume party, and you're going as Santa Claus?"

Dave laughed again and headed for his bathroom. "Oh no, I'm shaving."

Jeanette followed him, cocking her head to the side once she reached the bathroom door. "Why?"

Dave chuckled at her curiosity. "Why?... Well..." he smiled to himself as he thought of a good answer. "...Because weekend beard stubble just doesn't go well will my beautiful nails you and Eleanor painted for me." He waved his left hand and wiggled his left foot toward her as they shared a laugh.

"You haven't washed that off yet?" She asked.

Dave smiled. "No way! I'm proud to let people know that I now have three sweet, creative little girls in my life, who love me enough to give me a mani-pedi. My boys have never done that for me. It's cute that I get to bond with both boys and girls, since you all have different ways of showing love."

"Aww, thanks, Dave!" Jeanette squealed happily. Her eyes lit up as she watched him resume shaving. "Mind if I watch you shave? I like to learn how to do new things. And Ian and Giorgio have never let me watch them shave."

"OK, Sure." Dave found a spot on the counter where she could sit for a better view. She continued to ask questions while she watched him. _Was shaving a human thing and not a chipmunk thing? Had he been doing that his entire life? If not, how long? Was it a grown-up thing and not a child thing? Was it a male thing and not a female thing? What would happen if he didn't shave? Did he have to shave, if he didn't feel like it?_ Dave was floored that something so simple could fascinate a child as much as it did. But he knew it was really because she enjoyed spending time with him, and the feeling was mutual. It was a good bonding time for both of them.

Dave's mind snapped back into the present, as he realized Jeanette and Simon were at the end of their five-minute ride. "Alright, now it's Theodore and Eleanor's turn."

Even though Simon and Jeanette were both disappointed that their turn ended, they got off Dave's feet without protesting, and headed over to see their two littlest siblings, with the intention of cheering for them during their turn to ride on Dave's feet.

"Theodore? Eleanor? Would you guys like a turn?" Dave asked as he headed to where the two little chipmunks were still sitting on the floor in the middle of the music room. They were sitting so that they were leaning against each other, both hugging their knees, and both with their heads down. Did they fall asleep?

Eleanor finally looked up at Dave with red, watery eyes.

"Eleanor, are you OK?" Dave knelt down, placing a hand on her right shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Eleanor took a deep breath, but she seemed tired. "Uh, Dave...I don't feel good right now, and neither does Theo." She glanced at Theodore, who seemed to be coughing as he looked up at his father.

Alvin started hugging Dave's leg. "Did you hear that, Dave? They don't feel like having 'Davey Shoe Time' right now, but me and Brittany can go again."

Dave gently patted Alvin aside. "Not now, Alvin. I think your little brother and little sister are sick." As soon as Dave looked back at the little ailing chipmunk children, Theodore tried to cover his mouth as he involuntarily heaved and vomited onto the floor. That was enough to make Eleanor join him. "Theodore! ...Eleanor! It's OK, kids..." Dave gently rubbed their backs, throwing in some gentle pats.

Simon had dragged a small waste-basket to Dave's side. Dave accepted it with a brief "Thank you, Simon," and held the waste-basket in front of the two little ones, in case they still needed to throw up.

When Theodore caught his breath, he looked up at Dave, still shaky as he clutched the side of the waste-basket. "I'm sorry, Dave." He started to cry.

Dave gently rubbed his back. "It's OK, Theodore, you can't usually help these things. I'm sorry you're feeling sick - both of you. I should've taken that as a sign when you two just picked at your breakfast and your lunch today. And I know I could barely hear your beautiful singing voices just a moment ago, but I thought you were both still getting used to the harmony. How about I get you two cleaned up, and let you both take it easy in my room?"

The rest of that afternoon seemed hazy to David Seville. He had Theo and Ellie cleaned and changed into their pajamas. He gave them some Children's Benadryl for their scratchy throats and sinus problems, which had worsened, and he made sure they had some juice and electrolytes for their stomach problems.

As they slept in his bed, he put on some vintage Shirley Temple movies for the other kids, and cleaned up the mess in the music room. For now, Dave was in his downstairs office, back to songwriting. He had some baby monitors so he could monitor the sick ones while he dreamed of the Chipmunks and Chipettes performing together.

Occasionally he would glance into the living room to check on the others. Sometimes Alvin and Brittany would get up and dance during the musical numbers. Dave laughed as he watched their antics, but would frequently remind them to be careful. He didn't want anyone getting hurt by using the furniture for something other than its intended use.

"Dave?" Simon knocked on the office door sometime into the second or third movie.

"Hmm?" Dave looked up from his work to see Simon and Jeanette walking in. "What is it, Simon?...and Jeanette?"

Simon answered him, "We were just wondering..." he glanced briefly at Jeanette. "...Do Theodore and Eleanor have any signs of fever?"

Dave thought for a moment. "Well, their foreheads _did_ feel a bit feverish, and both of them said they felt cold and wanted to bundle up. I also gave them a little bit of Children's Tylenol before letting them take a nap. But I appreciate your concern for them."

"Well, Theodore _is_ my little brother, and Eleanor _is_ her little sister." Simon shrugged. "We were mostly wondering what we're doing if they are still sick tomorrow - especially Eleanor, since the girls are supposed to go back home - " he cleared his throat. "I mean, since they're due back to Ian Hawke's on the Monday afternoon bus."

Jeanette looked like she wanted to cry. "Ian isn't the best person to take care of us when we get sick, unless maybe it's Brittany who is sick. And Giorgio is...well, he's slightly better at it than Ian, but I still feel sicker after one of his sponge-baths." She winced.

Dave nodded and winced empathetically as he processed what she was saying. "I see... Well, I may need to take both Theodore and Eleanor to the doctor's office. I think I should also leave them out of school tomorrow. You two, and Alvin and Brittany can still go to school. But after hearing about the situation you girls have with Ian and this Giorgio guy...Jeanette, I would have no problem if you and Brittany want to return back here instead."

Jeanette jumped up and gasped happily. "Oh, thank you! Thank you, Dave!" She skipped up to him with her arms outstretched.

Dave laughed as he let Jeanette jump up onto his lap for a hug. He held and rocked her tenderly. "Oh, Jeanette, you and your sisters are welcome at our home anytime. I know I just barely met you girls two days ago, but I already think of you as my daughters, and I love you all as such."

"I love you, too, Dave!" She pecked a kiss on his left cheek.

He returned the kiss to her left cheek, before welcoming Simon to hop onto the right side of his lap and join them for the hug. "And, I love you, too, Simon - you and your brothers are my sons."

"Thank you, Dave! I love you, too." Simon smiled in his father's embrace as they simultaneously left a kiss on each other's right cheek. Once Dave released his hold on Simon, Simon put his arm around Jeanette. "Jeanette, I love you, and I'm so happy that you and your sisters will be part of our family, as well as our singing group."

She returned the hug to Simon. "And I love you, Simon! And I'm so excited to be part of your family!"

Dave held both of them as they held each other. "Well, first thing's first - I need to get Theodore and Eleanor to a doctor tomorrow while the rest of you are in school. Then I'll see about getting a lawyer so I can get custody of the girls."

"That's still exciting!" Jeanette could hardly contain her excitement.

"Should we tell Alvin and Brittany the good news?" Simon asked her while taking hold of her hand.

"Absolutely!" Jeanette squeezed his hand as she and Simon jumped off Dave's lap to run happily into the living room together.

* * *

"DAVE, WE'RE HOME!" Alvin shouted as he came in the front door on Monday afternoon.

Simon nudged him. "Alvinnn...remember Theodore and Eleanor are sick, and they may be asleep."

"Oh, right, sorry..." Alvin corrected himself, and said in the loudest whisper he could manage, "I mean...Dave, we're home!"

They heard their father's footsteps descending the stairs. "It's OK, your little siblings are awake and watching TV in my bedroom. They may want to see you." He finally came into the living room and saw the kids returning home from school. "Whoa...Alvin and Simon... Where are Brittany and Jeanette?"

The brothers looked at each other, before Simon explained, "As we were on our way to get on the bus so that all four of us could come home together..." He gazed at the floor in disappointment. "...Giorgio...apparently drove up and he picked up the girls to take them back to Ian's."

"Oh no!" Dave sighed, resting his forehead on his hand.

Simon continued, "Alvin and I didn't let him see us, so we hid behind a fence in some bushes. I was afraid that if he saw us with the girls, he would figure out that they were with us over the weekend and not at the home of some girl for a sleepover. If he knew, he would tell Ian, and the girls would get in trouble - Jeanette specifically would get in trouble. When Giorgio asked where Eleanor was, Brittany explained that she and 'Megan Coulter' were both sick and they had to stay home, but the 'Coulter' family was taking care of them. Giorgio at least seemed OK with it, but I don't know how Ian will take that news."

After taking a deep breath, Dave stated, "Well, I'm not ready to meet them in court, anyway. For most of the day I was taking care of Theodore and Eleanor. I didn't have time to talk to our lawyer."

"How are they?" Simon asked with concern.

Dave teetered his hand horizontally and shrugged. "Well, a little better than yesterday, and this morning. They both have an upper respiratory infection. I asked if the vomiting yesterday was related to it, and the doctor said they just swallowed a lot of post-nasal drainage. Thankfully, no food poisoning or stomach bug along with their infection. They've been resting in my bed throughout the day, watching some TV, and cuddling with Eleanor's bear. They may still need to miss one or two more days of school."

"So, you were able to let both of them see a doctor?" Simon assumed.

Dave sighed. "Yeah, the doctor got to see both of them. At first the receptionist asked if they were twins, since she didn't know I had any daughters. I may have just said she was your cousin. Filling out the rest of the paperwork for Eleanor wasn't easy. Since I didn't know Eleanor's birth date, and she doesn't really know it either, I just used the same date as the three of you. I even had to ask her what her last name was, since I knew she wouldn't want me to write 'Hawke', but I know she isn't legally a 'Seville' yet."

"Isn't their last name 'Chipette'?" Alvin tried to remember.

Dave explained. "I did write 'Chipette' for her last name, since it's the only name Eleanor knows she shares with her sisters."

Alvin mumbled to himself, "So...it _is_ Chipette...huh? I wonder if Brittany will hyphenate her name as Brittany Chipette-Seville when we get married? Or would she think I was cooler if I took her last name - Alvin Chipette? Or should I hyphenate and be Alvin Seville-Chipette?"

"What's that, Alvin? Are you OK?" Dave interrupted his private monologue.

"Huh?" Alvin blinked as he snapped out of his daydreaming. "Oh, I guess I'm OK. Are me and Simon allowed to go see Theodore and Eleanor? We won't catch what they have?"

Dave smiled. "Just don't stay too long, and we'll have to remember to wash our hands after visiting them. But I'm sure they would both love to see you guys. They've been stuck at home or been visiting the doctor all day, and they need to stay home from school for a few more days."

"Stay home from school, huh..." Alvin thought to himself. Aloud, he fibbed to his father, "Uh, Dave, suddenly I'm feeling sick, too. I think I might need to stay home tomorrow."

Dave could see through this ruse from the start. "Oh, really, Alvin?" He tried to suppress a laugh while feeling Alvin's forehead with the back of his hand.

Simon pointed out, "But, Alvin, if you stay home tomorrow, you wouldn't be able to see Brittany at school."

Alvin moved Dave's hand away. "Nevermind. I suddenly feel better. Hallelujah! I'm cured! It's a miracle!"

Dave shared a laugh with Simon while he ruffled Alvin's bangs. "Well, since it's about time for Eleanor and Theodore to take their medicine anyway, right after I get some snacks for them, I'll let you see them. Who knows? They might even appreciate hearing a song or two from you guys."

After about five minutes, the three of them went up to Dave's room to visit the little chipmunk patients. The TV was on, and Theodore was lying on the side closest to the room's entrance.

They could hear Eleanor on the other side of Theodore. "So, this show takes place underwater?" She sounded sleepy and congested, but otherwise she was her giggly self, showing amusement at the cartoon they were watching.

"Yeah, Dave had to watch five different episodes before he figured that out. But that explains why all the extra townspeople are walking fish. And also why they drive boats instead of cars. ' _SpongeBob_ ' is probably my favorite cartoon, because it's just so funny. I like to watch it with my brothers. Even Simon likes this show, even though he spends most of the time pointing out all the things that are, as he says, 'scientologically un-possible', or something like that."

"Pretty sure you mean 'scientifically impossible'." Simon chuckled as he approached the bed. "Hey, Theodore! Hey, Eleanor! How are you guys feeling?"

"Simon! Alvin! You're home!" The little chipmunks greeted them through some sniffles, while Theodore turned off the TV.

"I guess we're feeling a little better than this morning." Eleanor shrugged, glancing briefly at Theodore across her stuffed teddy bear.

"Yeah, still tired, though." He smiled sleepily, leaning against the bear, which was the same size as one of them.

Simon sat near the foot of Dave's bed, keeping his distance in case they were contagious. He hugged his own shoulders, then extended his arms in their direction. "I don't want to share germs with either of you, so I'm giving you guys an 'air hug'."

Alvin sat next to Simon and repeated his actions. "Yeah, me too. I missed you guys, and I hope you get well!"

"We missed you, too!" They both returned the "air hugs".

Eleanor looked around the room. "I thought my sisters wanted to come home with you guys. Where are they?"

Simon retold the story for her about how Giorgio picked up her sisters en route to the bus stop. "...But most of their stuff is still here, so it won't be the same without them. We hope to see them tomorrow, though."

Alvin comforted, "I'm glad to have at least my little sister home with us tonight. Even though I already miss Brittany and Jeanette."

Eleanor sighed. "Well, maybe they can tell Giorgio and Ian goodbye for me. I guess I'm just trying to think positive." She sniffled, and it was difficult to tell whether it was the sadness of missing her sisters, or because of her upper respiratory congestion.

"That reminds me..." Dave interrupted as he sat on the bed, placing a snack tray with some snacks and medication in front of Theodore and Eleanor. "I brought you some snacks you can take with your medicine."

They both smiled up at him. "Oh, thanks, Dave!"

Dave continued, "And we thought you'd also like to hear a song." He looked over at Alvin and Simon. "Right, guys?"

Alvin and Simon both perked up. "Yeah!"

Simon added, "We even learned a new song at school today." He glanced at Alvin. "Remember how it starts?"

"Sure do!" Alvin nodded. "And a-one, and a-two..."

* * *

 **A/N:** "Davey Shoe Time" inspiration is from when my dad would let us sit on his feet while he would give us a ride as he walked around. We called it "Daddy Shoe Time". There was also a "Daddy Back Time" (riding him piggy-back, then he would dump us on a bed, run away and hide, then we would play hide-and-seek to find him), "Daddy Slide Time" (he leaned against the couch while we slid down his back), "Daddy Surfboard Time" (he would be on his side on the floor, letting us walk up his leg, then he would try to shake us up when we got to his hip-level), and "Daddy Swing-Around Time" (he held our hands and spun us around in the backyard). No wonder he had back problems within 10-15 years later!

My brother was proud last year to leave on the sparkly-gold nail polish when his 4-year-old daughter painted his nails. It was so cute!

My dad also saw 5 episodes of " _SpongeBob Squarepants"_ before realizing it's underwater.


	19. Before Morning Bells

**Chip-ergarten**

 **About This Story:** The Chipmunks start Kindgarten and meet some mysterious new friends, the Chipettes. Some similarities may overlap with "The Squeakquel", only they are in Kindergarten. Warning: some chapters contain some harsher adult(-ish) themes, even though age-wise they are 5. I don't own any part of the Chipmunk franchise, just borrowing them from Nickelodeon, Janice Karman,  & Ross Bagdasarian, their family, & their company.

 **About This Chapter:** Rated PG-13, for depictions of injury, as well as some physical and mild (non-explicit) sexual abuse

 **Pairings:** Alvin/Brittany, Simon/Jeanette, Theodore/Eleanor

* * *

 **19\. Before Morning Bells**

"Brittany! And Jeanette! Yay! You guys made it!" Alvin jumped up and down excitedly as he and Simon saw the girls sitting in the school's atrium foyer before school started on Tuesday morning.

"Alvin! Simon!" Brittany stood up and waved at the boys. She looked relieved to see them, as if she was feeling anxious before they showed up. As she stepped closer to them, she nervously asked, "How is Eleanor? And Theodore?"

Alvin and Simon sandwich-hugged her, as Simon explained, "Both of them seem to be getting better, but they are still gonna miss school today and possibly tomorrow. But quite frankly, we were more worried for you and Jeanette. How are you guys doing?"

Brittany still looked nervous. "Well...it was pretty scary, to say the least...but I'm glad we both made it to school by some miracle." She glanced at Jeanette, who was still curled up on the floor. "We even brought some bags full of more of our stuff so we can leave Ian." She knelt down and motioned to some plastic grocery bags piled on Jeanette's left side, that she was currently using as a pillow.

"Jeanette?" Simon knelt down to greet his best friend, who still hadn't even reacted to his arrival.

Brittany lightly tapped her sister on the right shoulder. "Did you fall asleep again, Sis?"

Jeanette finally woke up with a jolt. She still didn't look up at Simon or Alvin. "Huh? Did the bell ring yet?"

"No." Brittany shook her head and motioned over to the boy chipmunks. "But Alvin and Simon are here. They say Ellie and Theo are doing better, even though they didn't come to school today."

"Oh, that's good to hear." Jeanette did seem relieved to hear that news, but the rest of her demeanor seemed exhausted and out of it, along with some feelings of anxiety and sadness. She was certainly a different person than the sweet, bright, daydreaming, and curious girl she was over the weekend. Right now, most of her hair was in a messy and lopsided bun, but she left a large patch of her long bangs pulled over the right side of her face. She was also wearing the exact same clothes she was wearing yesterday, only they looked slightly more unkempt, as if she slept in them overnight.

"Jeanette, are you OK?" Simon finally asked with concern. He reached out to smooth her hair out of her face as he did so.

At first she flinched at his touch, but otherwise let him move her hair, reminding herself that Simon was her best friend, and his intentions were gentle. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she just couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye. "Uhhh..." Was all she managed to mutter as she stood to her feet, with some help from Brittany and Simon.

Once Simon moved her bangs out of her eyes, he got a better look at her face. "Oh, Jeanette, what happened?" Her right eye was puffy, bruised, and swollen, with a scratch on the outside of her eye that looked like it had just stopped bleeding. Her glasses frames on that side had also been patched with a lousy scotch-tape job.

Alvin stood next to his brother, shocked at what happened to Jeanette. "You poor thing! Does that still hurt?" He glanced behind her. "And does your tail still hurt?"

Simon blinked as he inspected what Alvin mentioned. "Oh, Jeanette..." There was a scab-like wound on part of her tail, where fur was apparently torn off. He tried to rub her shoulder in a comforting manner. "Did Ian do this to you?"

Instead of answering him directly, tears spilled out of Jeanette's eyes and she just ran off to the nearest girls' restroom.

"Jeanette, wait!" Simon called after her, but it was too late to stop her. Frustrated, he looked to Brittany, hoping she would have some answers as to what happened to her sister.

Brittany took a deep breath as she began the story. "Like I said earlier, last night was pretty scary, and it's a miracle that we both made it to school this morning. So, yesterday afternoon when Giorgio took us back to Ian's place, Ian was trying to get us to rehearse, but of course he was a little disappointed to learn that Eleanor was sick. But he quickly and easily got over that, saying, 'Oh well, at least the chubby one is dispensable, and only a back-up singer. I still have my mega-superstar Brittany.' Of course he yelled at Jeanette for 'letting Eleanor get sick' or something. At this point, Jeanette just shrugged and said she didn't mind doing backup vocals and instruments for me. I guess after being with Dave this weekend, Jeanette was more confident and I didn't have to stand up for her as much. It was like she grew a backbone! For a while, Ian seemed OK with that, and didn't yell at her as much as he usually did."

"That doesn't seem so scary, yet." Alvin pointed out.

Brittany continued, "I'm not finished with the story yet. You see, Jeanette was doing a good job with backing me up - both during our rehearsal, and in general. We still missed Eleanor, even though Ian didn't care. Apparently Ian was very pleased with my performance, and he started...petting me and...stuff."

"And _stuff_?" Simon prompted with concern.

Brittany whispered, "You know, trying to undress me, and get me into 'something more comfortable', but it was really some outfit that I swear would've made me feel cold and uncomfortable, considering how tight it was. I didn't want him to do it, so I took a step back and told him, 'No thanks.' But he just ignored me, saying, 'I'm your manager, if I want you to perform in this outfit, you are wearing this outfit. Hold still, ... _Brittany_.' Only instead of calling me 'Brittany'...let's just say he called me something else that I don't want to repeat."

"I take it he didn't call you 'Princess', either." Alvin winced. "But probably something that...I would never call you, since Dave taught me better."

Brittany sighed. "Yes, Alvin, I'm pretty sure you, Simon, Theodore, or Dave would never call me or any of my sisters that. And at the time Ian called me that, I was kinda caught off-guard, and shocked enough that I just stood there without putting up a fight, while he continued...petting me, and handling me in a rough way."

"That rat!" Alvin angrily spat out. When Simon shot him a questioning look, Alvin shrugged, "What? Ian called us rats or worse names all the time."

Brittany slightly giggled, flattered to see how Alvin was protective of her. "Not that I'm bragging about how I was caught off-guard and just froze up and forgot how to stand up for myself in that moment, but you should've seen Jeanette. She actually stepped between Ian and me, and she even said, 'Hey, Ian, my sister said 'No'. And when she says 'No', she means 'No'.' Ian was shocked for a moment that Jeanette was standing up for me. But he got over that after a few seconds and just started yelling at Jeanette. Like, 'Hey, I'm _your_ manager too, blah, blah, blah... You and your sister better do what I tell you.' He may have even said that he was our god, as far as we were concerned, and that we couldn't do anything without his permission. And he even said he should have never let us go to a sleepover, since we lost a backup singer to sickness, and from now on, no more sleepovers and no more other friends. And also from now on, we are not 'allowed' to get sick. He was so unreal!"

"He sure has gotten so power-hungry since we last saw him!" Simon muttered.

Brittany continued her story. "But when he went for me again, grabbing me by the tail and handling me all rough, while trying to change my clothes, Jeanette tried to help me get away. Finally, Ian pinned both of us down, and ripped some fur from her tail. While she was screaming in pain, he was using his other hand to throw me into the Punishment Cage. Then Jeanette actually bit his hand, to get out from under him. Ian was so shocked, and mad, and in pain, that he threw Jeanette across the room! From where I was, it looked like she hit her head against the apartment door, and I thought she was at least unconscious for sure. Ian was stomping across the room to get to her, probably to throw her into the Punishment Cage with me. But instead, she jumped up and opened the door. She was even like, 'I quit, Ian, and you are no longer my manager.' Right after she stepped out the door, Ian was like, 'Fine! I don't care what happens to you, Geek-Girl! Good riddance! I'm throwing out all of your stuff as if you were never her. But if you call the cops, I'm gonna barbecue your sister!'"

"Yikes!" Alvin gasped. "I'm so glad he didn't hurt you after that. Or did he?"

"No, I'm his superstar." Brittany admitted with a shrug. "But that didn't stop me from being scared all night, and wetting myself while I slept in the Punishment Cage. That is, once I was able to doze off. I was so scared that Jeanette would pass out from a concussion or something the next time I saw her. I only knew she was still conscious out there, since Ian made several trips as he gathered up her and Eleanor's stuff and threw it out in the hall. I could hear him muttering and growling at her. I know he wanted to yell, but he didn't want to make a scene. He told me at some point that he at least had me, his superstar, and that my solo career starts now, or else he threatened to barbecue me, or any of my sisters if he ever saw them again."

"Eww!" Simon and Alvin both shuddered. Alvin placed a comforting arm around her.

She fell against his shoulder and started crying. "I didn't see Jeanette again until this morning when I got here. She said she spent all night gathering our stuff that Ian threw out into plastic bags, then she carried it all the way to school, where she slept in the bushes near the front steps for about an hour or so before anyone else got here. She was afraid she might have a concussion, and she was trying to stay awake as long as possible. She really is a lot braver than I give her credit for!"

Alvin continued to rub Brittany's back, while he shared a questioning glance with his older brother. The two of them shared a telepathic conference for a few moments, before Simon heaved a sigh.

"I guess the only logical thing to do is let Jeanette come home with us tonight." Simon shrugged.

Brittany ran up to embrace Simon. "Oh, thank you! Thank you!" Her tears were happy and relieved ones by now.

"Should I tell the teacher about your situation, now?" Simon asked her after returning the hug.

"I-I-I don't know." Brittany blinked. "If I don't return to Ian tonight, he may get really upset, and he may start figuring out that we've been seeing you guys behind his back. You know he has connections."

Simon glanced worriedly between Brittany to Alvin. "Oh, right. Dave said he was busy taking Theodore and Eleanor to the doctor yesterday, and he didn't have time to talk to our lawyer yet."

Alvin joined in the group hug, rubbing Brittany's back and shoulders, while leaning against his bigger brother. "You know, Britt, you can still runaway to live with us. Your sisters need you...and I need you, you're my best friend, Brittany." As she looked up at him, he continued, "I know what Ian is capable of, but I also know you belong with us - your family."

Simon nodded. "Alvin's right, Britt. If you stay with us, sure you run the risk of making Ian mad, but at least you have a better chance of coming back to school intact - and un-barbecued - than if you go to Ian's place by yourself."

Brittany shrugged. "Well, Ian has me scheduled to perform for the half-time show of that football game. I also don't want to let my public down. I never thought I would have to do a solo gig, without my sisters. But I would at least be happy to know they are with you guys."

"Nobody says you _have_ to do this!" Alvin groaned angrily. Brittany shot an argumentative look back at him, as though reminding him that he couldn't tell her what to do. Alvin sighed, realizing that being at odds with his friend Brittany meant that he was siding with Ian. He continued in a calmer voice. "OK, Britt, it is still your decision, whichever home you go to tonight. And I will stop trying to tell you what to do."

Simon smiled at his little brother, knowing that saying that was anything but easy for him. He turned back to Brittany. "Either way, I think you should check on Jeanette, and see if you just need to help her clean up a bit in the bathroom, or if we need to take her to the school nurse."

"Why me?" Brittany glanced up at him.

Before Simon could answer, the opening bell rang, letting the kids know they could start filing through the halls and get on their way to class.

He answered, "Because she's your sister, and she went into the girls' bathroom. Alvin and I will carry your bags to our classroom, and we'll cover for you if you're late getting into class." Alvin nodded with him, agreeing enthusiastically.

Brittany finally managed a smile. "Oh, sure. I'll go help my sister." As she started on her way to the girls' restroom, she waved back at them, "Thanks, fellas!"

Alvin started helping his brother in picking up some of the bags. "Wow, Jeanette is a lot stronger and tougher than I thought!" He marveled.

Simon chuckled while carrying the rest of the bags. "And that's while she's burning the 'midnight oil', and running on very little sleep or dinner."

"Good to know that she'll eat and sleep much better tonight." Alvin smiled while the two of them walked to their classroom. A more worried expression crossed his face. "All I hope is that Brittany will come to her senses and join her."

* * *

 **A/N:** I hope Jeanette wasn't too out-of-character there. She just thrives under a positive parental influence like Dave. And I hope Alvin didn't seem too OOC, either, when he backed out of that argument with Brittany. As much as they obviously care about each other, there is also a bit of a professional and friendly rivalry developing. But they both know when to fight _for_ each other and when it's OK to fight _against_ each other. There is a time to be friends, and a time to be rivals (and in a few years, a time to be lovers!).

Ian also used the "barbecue" threat in the "Squeak-quel".


	20. Last Stop

**Chip-ergarten**

 **About This Story:** The Chipmunks start Kindgarten and meet some mysterious new friends, the Chipettes. Some similarities may overlap with "The Squeakquel", only they are in Kindergarten. Warning: some chapters contain some harsher adult(-ish) themes, even though age-wise they are 5. I don't own any part of the Chipmunk franchise, just borrowing them from Nickelodeon, Janice Karman,  & Ross Bagdasarian, their family, & their company.

 **About This Chapter:** Rated PG, since it may just be somewhat sad.

 **Pairings:** Alvin/Brittany, Simon/Jeanette

* * *

 **20\. Last Stop**

Simon glanced at his watch, then to his right side over at the other chipmunk children sharing a seat with him on the school bus. Between the four of them, they also shared a pile of plastic bags containing various luggage for the Chipettes across their laps. "OK, we have approximately fifteen minutes before our stop."

Alvin, who had the window seat, turned to his left and placed his arm around Brittany's shoulders. "You know you can still come home with us. That offer still stands."

She smiled at him. "I'll at least get up to let you out of this seat at your stop. I'm still going back to see Uncle Ian and Uncle Giorgio. I think one of us should make peace with them, and I also think it should be me, since I'm Ian's favorite and his superstar. But thanks, though. And tell Dave I said hi."

Jeanette squealed excitedly at Brittany's left. "Oh, how I've missed Dave! I haven't seen him since Monday morning. I'm so excited about going home with Simon and Alvin to see him!" As she looked around at the others, her glasses started slipping apart and sliding down her nose. "Oops, that's been happening all day, hasn't it?"

Simon chuckled as he helped her adjust them. "Oh, that kinda thing has happened to my glasses before. If you like, I can fix them in five or ten minutes once I get to my tools at home in the basement."

"Aww, thanks, Simon!" Jeanette beamed at him.

Simon returned the smile. He saw how Alvin had his arm around Brittany, and he decided to try showing more affection like that with his best friend Jeanette. His right arm hugged around her shoulders as if to say, " _I want to protect you so that nothing bad happens to you._ "

In return, she leaned her head against his right shoulder as though telling him, " _I trust you._ " The two of them shared another smile, and simultaneously released a sigh of relief.

Simon glanced over at Brittany, "And you're sure you don't want to come home with us today? I'm sure Dave would miss you if you don't come, and he'd love to see you."

Brittany smiled from resting on Alvin's shoulder. "I'm sure. I at least need to tell Ian that my sisters have left him. At least one of us should rehearse for that half-time show performance. We don't want to let our fans down. Both Ian and Giorgio are nicer to me. And while I'm there I can pack more of our stuff so we can move in with you guys after the performance."

Jeanette gave a concerned look at her sister. "It's just stuff that we're leaving with Ian. We have much nicer stuff at the Seville house. And the rest of us know that Ian and Giorgio are nicer to you, and that you're their favorite. But now who is gonna stop them from being rough with you? Or drugging you? Or...we don't wanna think what they might do to you, since we know what they are capable of. Please come with us, Britt. I would rather have both of my sisters and no stuff, than have all of our stuff but only one sister. The Chipettes wouldn't be any fun without you." She reached her right hand over and patted Brittany's left hand with it.

Brittany sighed and held her sister's hand in silence for the few precious remaining minutes of the bus ride. "It's gonna be OK, Jeanette, and I'll be OK."

Alvin hugged her from the other side. He fought tears, certain that crying and begging wouldn't help at this point. With a deep breath, he rested his head against hers and stated as calmly as he could manage, "Well, I hope we'll at least see you tomorrow at school, Brittany. I mean, recess won't be the same without My Princess there to rescue on the slide." He winked over at Simon and Jeanette. "Sure my favorite 'wizard' and 'enchantress' will be there, while my 'squire boy' and 'squire girl' are out sick, but rescuing My Princess is the highlight of my recess."

"Aww." Brittany smiled up at him. "For that reason, I'll definitely try my best to be there. I at least wanna see how rehearsal for a solo career goes for one night, OK?"

Alvin sighed. "We may not be completely happy with that, but you have a deal." He shook her right hand with his right hand, but continued to hold onto it until the bus stopped.

"Eighth and Liberty." The bus driver announced as he stopped the bus and opened the door.

"Bye, Sis, I love you." Jeanette choked back tears as she hugged her little sister, before picking up a few bags of their stuff.

Brittany returned the sisterly hug. "I love you, Jeanette! And tell Eleanor I love her, too!" She pecked a quick kiss on Jeanette's cheek.

"Will definitely do!" Jeanette pecked back at Brittany's cheek.

While the two sisters were still embracing, Simon reached over to pat Brittany's shoulder, while picking up some bags in his other arm. "Well, best of luck with Uncle Ian and Uncle Giorgio. And may God have mercy on your soul." As he and Jeanette exited the bus, he called back to her, "I'm not kidding or exaggerating, and you know it."

As Alvin climbed over Brittany from his window seat to get to the aisle of the bus, he gave her one last hug around the shoulders. "Fear not, I will come for you, My Princess!" With that, he exited the bus, carrying the remaining bags.

Once Brittany had the bus seat all to herself, she actually started to feel lonely. The driver was closing the doors, almost ready to drive again. She wasn't feeling scared or worried at all, just lonely. Out of curiosity, she stood up so that she could look out the window. She could see the other three chipmunk children that just got off the bus. They could also see her, and they were waving their goodbyes to her as if she were embarking on the maiden voyage of the _Titanic_ , knowing that it would sink, but they didn't know if she would be one of the few to make it to the lifeboats in time.

She suddenly had an idea, and remembered that she had some unused Kleenexes in her pocket that she saved just in case Jeanette needed them later. She took out one of them and started waving it in the air like the handkerchief waved from a lady fair to her gallant knight.

Alvin put his right hand over his heart, deeply moved by her actions. As the bus started to take off, he blew some heartfelt kisses in her direction.

Brittany pretended to catch some of those kisses, and even blew some back at him until he disappeared from view.

"Oh, Alvin!" She sighed as she sat back down. It was lonely back here, as less kids remained on the bus with each stop.

"Last stop!" The driver announced to the handful of remaining kids, including Brittany.

Brittany sighed as she exited the bus, even starting to wonder if she was making a terrible mistake by going to Ian to pursue her solo career. " _Maybe I should've gotten off the bus with the others..._ " She thought out loud to herself. " _Oh well, too late now._ "

* * *

 **A/N:** Very short chapter compared to the others around it. Will Brittany be OK? Stay tuned...


	21. Daddy's New Girl

**Chip-ergarten**

 **About This Story:** The Chipmunks start Kindgarten and meet some mysterious new friends, the Chipettes. Some similarities may overlap with "The Squeakquel", only they are in Kindergarten. Warning: some chapters contain some harsher adult(-ish) themes, even though age-wise they are 5. I don't own any part of the Chipmunk franchise, just borrowing them from Nickelodeon, Janice Karman,  & Ross Bagdasarian, their family, & their company.

 **About This Chapter:** Rated PG-13, since there is mention of injury, and some talk that implies child molesting

 **Pairings:** Alvin/Brittany, Simon/Jeanette, Theodore/Eleanor

* * *

 **21\. Daddy's New Girl**

"Jeanette!" Dave was surprised to see the girl chipmunk walking into the living room with Alvin and Simon as they came home from school. At the time, he was carrying a tray from the kitchen with snacks and medications for the two little chipmunk patients in the living room. He set it down on the couch cushion next to the one where they were both sitting so he could welcome the kids coming home from school. Alvin and Simon ran to hug him after leaving their bags and backpacks by the stairs.

"Oh, Jeanette's here?" Eleanor looked over the arm of the couch with Theodore. She muted the TV while watching " _SpongeBob_ " so she could give her sister more undivided attention.

"Dave! Eleanor! Theodore!" Jeanette waved at them as she came over to see them. "You guys look like you're feeling better. That's good."

Theodore smiled and shrugged. "Yeah, kinda."

Eleanor smiled through a sniffle. "I definitely feel better than we felt on Sunday, and even better than yesterday." She looked around. "Did Brittany come with you?"

Jeanette sadly shook her head, while she held onto her glasses to keep them from falling apart.

Dave came over to her and picked her up for a gentle hug. "I'm so glad you made it, Jeanette! It's so good to see you!"

"Dave, I've missed you!" Jeanette smiled as she leaned against his shoulder for the hug and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I've missed you, too." He affectionately smoothed her bangs away from where they still hung over her right eye. It was at that moment that he noticed her black eye, the fresh scab from the scratch, and the temporary tape job holding her glasses together. "Oh, Jeanette, Sweetheart, what happened?"

Jeanette burst into tears. "Oh, Dave! Yesterday afternoon, while Brittany and I were rehearsing in Ian's apartment, Ian put Brittany in the Punishment Cage, and he threw me across the room. I hit my head on the front door, which broke my glasses. But I opened the door and escaped before he could get to me to hurt me again. I told him that I quit working for him, and he threw all of my stuff out into the hallway of the apartment complex. He said that if I told anyone in authority about what he did, he would barbecue Brittany. I spent half an hour gathering up our stuff into plastic bags, then another half hour getting it down the stairs and out the door. I didn't know what I would do once I was on the street. It was scary, since it was getting dark by then, and I was also hungry and tired, and kinda dizzy from hitting my head, which throbbed for the rest of the night.

"But then I saw this mother cat with her five kittens in an alley. It was like they took pity on me. The mom was licking my face and her kittens were nuzzling me, telling me everything would be OK. She was like an angel! I told her what happened, and she asked three of her kittens to keep an eye on Ian's apartment window all night and make sure nothing happened to Brittany in the Punishment Cage. They also found a wagon for me so I could carry all my bags to school. She knew the way to get to the school, and she and the other two of her kittens stayed with me throughout the journey. It took me most of the night to get to the school, but Mama Cat showed me some bushes near the front steps where I could set down my bags for the night. And I could leave the wagon by the bicycle rack, where someone else could use it.

"She asked if I was hungry, and I knew where the school cafeteria was, so I showed her and her kittens the alley behind that, where I found some leftover chicken or fish in the dumpster for them, as a way of thanking them for their kindness. One of the kittens even found an unopened bag of mixed nuts for me, since he remembered that I said I was a vegetarian that doesn't eat anything with a face. I thanked the little guy, who even used his claws and teeth to help open the bag for me. He's only four months old, and his name is Reginald, but he was very helpful and sweet, like his Mama. The cats also showed me a broken sprinkler head on the school grounds, so we could all get a drink, and I could wash off a little. After that, I slept on my bags under the bushes, while Mama Cat kissed me goodnight and stayed with me until I fell asleep. Once I woke up, it was daylight, and some teachers were getting ready for class to start. The cats were gone, but I was so grateful that they showed up when I needed them.

"I soon saw Giorgio dropping off Brittany for the day. Once Giorgio left, I went up to Brittany and gave her a hug. I was glad Ian didn't barbecue her, and that she was OK. She was surprised but delighted to see me. She helped me carry the bags from under the bushes to the foyer atrium inside the school. We exchanged stories about what happened to us that night for a while. She didn't believe me about the cats - not that I expected her to, anyway - but she smiled and hugged me until I fell asleep again. She said she would wake me when it was time to go to class. Instead, she woke me when Simon and Alvin showed up. Sure, I was tired, scared, and in pain from last night's experience for most of the day, but it has gotten so much better since the boys told me they would take me home and help me carry my stuff. And now I see you, Dave, and I can see that Ellie and Theo are feeling better, so my life is good once again!"

Dave blinked upon hearing her story, but he smiled at her and affectionately stroked the back of her head and neck. "Wow, Jeanette, that story is...a lot to take in. I've heard - and sometimes even seen firsthand - that God works in mysterious ways. If anything, you're giving me some great song-writing material. But I'm just glad that you're OK, Jeanette." He gently cradled her into another warm hug. "And I'm thrilled that you came back to live with us!"

Simon tugged on Dave's pant leg to get his father's attention. "Dave, I told her earlier that I could fix her glasses in five or ten minutes once we got home and I got to my tools."

Dave looked into Jeanette's eyes for a moment. "Is that OK with you, yet? I can carry you wherever you want to go, so you don't have to worry about tripping over anything you can't see."

"OK, Dave." Jeanette smiled as she handed him her glasses.

"Thank you for volunteering to help her fix her glasses, Simon." Dave knelt and handed off Jeanette's glasses to his responsible son.

"Yes, thank you, Simon! I appreciate it!" Jeanette beamed as she saw the blue blur of Simon disappearing from view as he went down to the basement.

"Anytime, Jeanette!" Said the blue blur. Even though Jeanette couldn't see his face without her glasses, she knew he was smiling.

Dave stood fully upright and looked at Jeanette again. "While he's fixing your glasses, Jeanette, I can take you upstairs to my bathroom and clean and bandage the scratch near your eye. How does that sound?"

"That sounds great, Dave." Jeanette smiled as she squinted at him. "You might need to bandage my tail, too."

"Your tail?" Dave hadn't noticed that yet. But he took a quick glance behind the girl he held in his arms. "Oh...I see... What happened to your tail?"

Jeanette shrugged. "Ian tore off a clump of fur from my tail right before he threw Brittany in the Punishment Cage, and me against the apartment door."

Alvin cut in, "One thing that Jeanette didn't mention yet that most impressed me was that she actually _bit_ Uncle Ian before he threw her! Did you know that?"

" _Whaaaat?...!_ " Eleanor and Theodore stared at her in shock.

Dave started chuckling with wide eyes. "Really? Biting anyone seems so unlike you, Jeanette."

Jeanette looked down as if she wasn't near as proud of it as Alvin was. "I only did it because of what Ian was doing to Brittany. She's my sister, and I wanted to protect her."

"Did you actually draw blood?" Eleanor eagerly asked.

Jeanette couldn't see, but she made a disgusted face in the direction she heard Eleanor's voice. "I think so, and it was one of the worst tastes that had been in my mouth in a long time - at least since I gave up meat."

"Wow..." Eleanor marveled.

"Respect!" Theodore giggled with a slight sniffle.

Dave looked into her light violet blue eyes again and asked with his fatherly concern, "But what was Ian doing to Brittany that was so bad that you felt like you needed to bite him?"

"Well...umm..." Jeanette motioned with a slight nod of her head towards where she knew the other kids were, then she glanced downward.

"Huh?...Oh...oh, I see." Dave said quietly as he started to understand the nature of the situation. "Yeah, I'd probably wanna bite Ian in that situation, too. Would you feel more comfortable telling me more about that once it's just the two of us? Maybe after I bandage your eye and your tail?"

Jeanette breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, thanks, Dave! I _would_ like that."

Dave knelt down in front of Alvin. "Hey, Alvin, would you like to be my special helper again?"

Alvin raised an eyebrow. "For real, Dave?"

Dave smiled. "Yes, please, Alvin. Would you please make sure that your little brother and your little sister take their medicine before they finish their snacks? I already measured out their medicine in those little tiny cups on the tray. I just need someone to make sure they take their medicine and take care of them while I go upstairs to take care of Jeanette. Will you please do that, Alvin?"

"Okey dokey, Dave!" Alvin winked at his father while he nodded enthusiastically. He skipped over to the couch to give the little chipmunks their medicine on the tray, while Dave stood and started ascending the stairs with Jeanette securely in his arms.

Once Alvin found the tray with the tiny medicine cups on it, he made sure to give one of each to his little siblings. "Here's Teddy-Boy's medicine...and...here's Ellie-Girl's medicine."

"Thanks, Alvin!" They smiled at him as they accepted the offered medicine cups.

"What kinda medicine is this, anyway?" Alvin asked them.

Theodore shot a questioning look at Eleanor, who answered him, "This pink milky stuff is our 'Annie-Body-Ick', but it's not really as icky as it sounds."

"Yeah, it kinda tastes like strawberries!" Theodore giggled.

Eleanor pointed to the cup full of the clearer liquid. "And this is our cough syrup."

"Like the kinda syrup you pour on pancakes, but we just drink this by itself." Theodore added.

After they both downed the first two tiny cups, Eleanor pointed to the third and final cup. "And this last one is our 'Kids Motor-Inn', which helps with our fever and sore throats."

"It tastes alright." Theodore shrugged as he lightly clinked his cup with Eleanor's as if they were toasting, before they gulped down this one. "Dave says the doctor wants us to take these with food."

"Oh yeah, sure!" Alvin picked up the plate of crackers, grapes, and popcorn and held it out to them. "Can I have some of the snacks without getting sick?"

"Sure!" They both motioned to the plate as Alvin helped himself to a few things near his end of the plate.

Theodore explained, "Dave says we're getting better. And I like to share snacks and other things, just not germs."

"So what all did you guys do today?" Alvin asked once he swallowed the food in his mouth.

Eleanor's mouth was empty at that time, so she said, "Well, we've mostly been in the living room in our jammies all day. Dave read a few books to us. Then he let us watch TV and some movies while we took naps on the couch, and he worked in his office. We watched ' _Peter Pan_ ', and ' _Beauty And The Beast_ ', and then we took a nap."

"That's when I thought of a good nickname for you." Theodore added. "Ellie-Belle. Kinda like Tinkerbell, since you liked her green dress, and you said you liked Belle, too, since she just needed purple glasses to look like Jeanette."

Eleanor giggled. "Oh yeah, and we fell asleep on the couch, and at one point we woke up, and I was surprised that I could fall asleep without my teddy bear, which we realized we left on Dave's bed. But Theo was warm and cuddly, so I forgot that I didn't have my teddy bear. I said I should start calling him My Teddy Bear, since you sometimes call him 'Teddy-Boy' or 'Ted'. But he says it's weird when other people besides you call him 'Teddy-Boy', so somehow I thought of shortening 'Teddy-Bear' to 'T-Bear'."

Theodore giggled. "I liked that so much, and we knew that was a winner." He patted Eleanor's arm and smiled at her, before he looked back at Alvin. "But you can still call us 'Teddy-Boy' and 'Ellie-Girl', while we'll keep 'T-Bear' and 'Ellie-Belle' as the nicknames we call each other."

Alvin giggled. "That's too cute! I like those nicknames for you guys. Kinda like how I call Brittany 'My Princess', and she calls me 'My Hero', from our playing castle on the slides as I rescue her everyday at recess. But we're the only ones who can call each other that." He started looking sad as he thought of his best friend Brittany. "Oh, Brittany... I'm sorry that me and Simon couldn't talk her into coming home with us. She said she would go to Ian tonight to rehearse for your halftime show as a solo gig. She says Ian won't hurt her, since she's his 'superstar', but I still don't trust Ian. Hmm...I'd like to go there myself and take a bite out of him!"

"That reminds me..." Eleanor began, "What did Ian do to Brittany that made Jeanette want to bite Ian? Did she tell you?"

Alvin shrugged. "Brittany kinda told us, but when we asked Jeanette she didn't want to talk about it."

Eleanor's eyes got wide. "Oh, did Ian get too 'hands-y' with her or something?"

Theodore gasped. "You mean he _touched_ her, you know... _there_?"

Alvin winced. "Something of that nature, I think. Brittany said Ian was even kinda rough with her. I sure hope he doesn't hurt her tonight." He suddenly had an idea. "Maybe we should get Dave to drive us by Ian's house this evening to kinda...check on her. You know, make sure Ian doesn't barbecue her. We have Eleanor and Jeanette, so I'm sure they can tell us how to get there."

Eleanor shrugged, "Well, Jeanette would know better than me, since I'm too short to see much out the window during the bus trips. All I could show you is how to get to the apartment once we're inside the building. But I don't know how to get in the building without a key, unless the doorman at the front desk can let us in. And I don't actually want to see Ian, or Giorgio, but I would love to see Brittany."

"I'm just curious to know where Ian lives, in case we need to help save Brittany. I don't want to see Ian or Giorgio either. Could we maybe drop off a basket of muffins for them, with little notes written to Brittany wishing her good luck for her solo gig?" Theodore brainstormed.

"Yeah, something that Brittany _will_ know is from us, but that Ian and Giorgio _won't_ know is from us." Eleanor smiled.

Alvin gave them two thumbs-up. "I like this plan so far. Imagine how awesome it'll be once we talk about it with Simon, Jeanette, and Dave!"

* * *

As Dave took Jeanette up to his bathroom, he had to keep her posted on just about every twist and turn he took between the living room and there, in order to keep her calm.

"And here we are in my bathroom." He announced. "I'm going to let you sit here while I get out the first aid kit. It's in the same spot where you sat to watch me shave the other day."

"Thanks, Dave." She sighed. "And I won't move from this spot until you tell me otherwise. Not that I can see well enough to go anywhere right now."

"I understand." Dave nodded as he picked up the first aid kit from one of the drawers. "I used to wear glasses and contact lenses as a kid and as a teenager, and I couldn't see much without them until I had laser surgery in my mid-twenties. I'm sure glad I had that done years before I met the boys, otherwise I'd have to replace my glasses or my contacts just about every month."

Jeanette giggled as Dave held a washcloth dampened with cold water to her right temple. "Wow, you wore glasses as a kid?"

Dave chuckled. "Yep, sure did. In some of my kid pictures, I even look like Simon so much that I start to forget that my boys are adopted." The two of them shared a brief laugh before Dave was hit by a more serious wave of his fatherly concern. "So, I'm just wondering about this, Jeanette, but what all did the teachers do today when they found out what happened to your eye and your tail? Or even about your and Brittany's living situation with Ian?"

"Well..." Jeanette thought for a moment. "I didn't actually...tell them about our living situation with Ian."

"What? Why not? And what _did_ you tell them when they asked about your eye and your tail?" Dave gently stroked his fingers across her left ear.

Jeanette looked like she wanted to start crying again. "I felt bad about not being completely honest with them, when as teachers, they just wanted to help. But Brittany told me that she would go back to Ian tonight, and so that Ian doesn't barbecue her, I had to keep the secret for her sake. I just told the teachers that I accidentally fell down the stairs at home, and that I was reading while walking, without paying attention, and I got my tail stuck in the elevator door. To think that last week, I was asking Simon to lie for us, while this week Brittany asked me to lie for her about the same thing. I feel so guilty! This must be how Simon felt last week." She looked up at Dave. "But I'm so glad you already know about all of this, Dave. It feels so good to finally get this heavy weight off of me that has dragged me down all day. It's such a relief to be able to live with you instead of Ian, Dave."

Dave was quiet for a moment as he took in this information, but Jeanette couldn't see his facial expression. She didn't know what the silence meant. "Uh, you _did_ say that we could live with you, didn't you, Dave?"

Dave patted her back. "Oh, yes, I did, Jeanette. I mean, if it were up to me, I'd be perfectly happy having you and both of your sisters live here with us. I only hope that our family lawyer is good enough to fight our legal battles so that I can get custody of you girls from Ian. I'm a little worried that if Ian finds out you girls have been coming here, and if he gets hold of a good lawyer first, that he'll be able to charge _me_ with kidnapping." He gently rubbed her back, "On another subject, I may need you to either lean very far forward or turn you to the side so that I can disinfect and bandage your tail. I just want to warn you so that I don't scare you."

"Oh sure!" She swiveled to her left side, with a little of Dave's guidance, so that Dave could still monitor the scratch next to her black eye. "Any luck with the lawyer situation today? Or were you busy caring for Theo and Ellie?" She slightly winced as the disinfectant stung the wound on her tail.

"Sorry, Jeanette." Dave soothed her. "I actually did get to talk to our family lawyer and tell him a little about what is going on. We had a fifteen-minute phone conversation, and he is actually working on a case out of town this week, but said that he would be able to look more into our situation once he gets back in town by the end of the week. It may be that nothing really happens for us until after our big performance in two weeks. But that may be OK, since Ian is at least bound to find out by then where you girls have _really_ been staying. I will just keep hoping and praying for the best until then." He sighed as he finished securing a bandage around Jeanette's tail. "There you go, Jeanette!"

"Thanks, Dave!" She glanced back at her tail, testing how well it moved in the bandage. She smiled and stretched out her arms in Dave's direction. As Dave picked her up to hug her again, she gave him an encouraging smile. "Well, Dave, I trust you enough to know you can do this. I mean, before this past weekend, I was afraid of water, but you not only taught me how to swim, but how to have fun and enjoy the water." She leaned in to hug him around his neck. "Mmm...I believe in you, Dave...Daddy! Oh, how wonderful it feels to be able to say that to someone! Especially someone like you!"

Dave cradled her and pecked a little kiss on her left cheek. "I love you, Jeanette. And I'm so happy to welcome you into my family. You are such a sweet, intelligent girl. Right now I'm actually feeling sorry for Ian for not seeing that in you. He really doesn't know what he's missing and what kind of treasure he's giving up - with all three of you girls, of course. Come to think of it, even if you guys and girls didn't sing, my life would still be so much richer just by having all of you in my life and in my family."

Jeanette sighed happily. "To think, I've been a big sister for so much of my life, but until this past weekend I've never really been anyone's daughter. Is this what it feels like?"

Dave returned her smile. "And until this past weekend, I've never known the feeling of having a daughter in my life. Now I feel that I have three."

"I know, I miss Brittany, too. And I worry about her." Jeanette looked saddened.

Dave remembered something. "Oh yeah, did you still want to tell me about what happened last night? Or more about what Ian was doing to Brittany before you bit him? We could sit on my bed, if you'd feel more comfortable there."

Jeanette sighed as she nodded. "Yes, that would be nice. But it would still be kinda weird not being able to _see_ you as I talk with you."

"Well, I wonder if Simon has finished fixing your glasses by now." Dave cheered her up. "And why don't I also get dinner ready, since you haven't had a decent meal since..."

"Lunch, yesterday, since you packed one for me." Jeanette added.

"Right." Dave nodded as he carried her out of his bathroom. "And you also probably haven't had a nice warm bath and a good night's rest since Sunday night. We can get those going for you after our family dinner."

* * *

 **A/N:** I was asked back in Chapter 19 how Jeanette managed to carry all those bags from Ian's apartment to the school, so I came up with the help from the alley cats. In the Nickelodeon cartoon episode "Good Luck, Mister Whiskers", Jeanette even says "Oh, I've been a cat whisperer for, like, years." If Eleanor's description of the medicine still isn't clear, the "Annie-Body-Ick" (antibiotic) is one of those amoxicillin suspensions, where water is mixed with a powder before it is picked up (at the pharmacy), and it also comes in a strawberry or bubblegum flavor. The cough syrup was Bromfed DM (Brompheniramine, Pseudoephedrine, and Dextromethorphan), and the last one was Children's Motrin (Ibuprofen). Dave is shown with glasses in some of his childhood photos in the cartoon episode "Let's Make A Deal".


	22. What Love Is

**Chip-ergarten**

 **About This Story:** The Chipmunks start Kindgarten and meet some mysterious new friends, the Chipettes. Some similarities may overlap with "The Squeakquel", only they are in Kindergarten. Warning: some chapters contain some harsher adult(-ish) themes, even though age-wise they are 5. I don't own any part of the Chipmunk franchise, just borrowing them from Nickelodeon, Janice Karman,  & Ross Bagdasarian, their family, & their company.

 **About This Chapter:** Rated PG, conversation involving corporeal punishment versus abuse, bodily-function humor

 **Pairings:** Alvin/Brittany, Simon/Jeanette, Theodore/Eleanor

* * *

 **22\. What Love Is**

"Brittany!" Five familiar furry faces lit up Wednesday morning before school started, as they all ran to envelope her in a group hug.

"Eleanor! Theodore! I haven't seen either of you in forever!" Brittany pulled both of the little ones into a hug. "I'm so glad to see that you guys are feeling better - at least better enough to come to school. Mmmm!"

"Careful!" Eleanor giggled with a slight cough. "Dave said we could try out a day of school to see how we feel. But he told us to make sure to cover our mouths and wash our hands."

Theodore chuckled. "Yeah, we're 'unclean', like people in a Bible-times leper colony, so you might want to keep your distance."

Brittany continued to hug them, but she turned her head so as not to inhale the air that they just exhaled. "I'll risk it. I've missed you guys!"

At that moment, Miss Garcia walked by the group of chipmunk children in the foyer on her way back to the classroom with a cup of coffee. "Good morning, boys and girls! And Theodore and Eleanor! I'm glad to see you are feeling better. The others told me you two got sick this past weekend."

"We did get sick." Theodore explained as he handed her a piece of paper. "My dad Dave told me to give this to you. I don't even know what it says, since our dad wrote it in 'scribbly'."

Miss Garcia looked over it. "Oh, it's a note from your dad, letting me know that you and Eleanor would like to try going to school today, but you still may need to take it easy and keep your distance from other students, covering your mouths when you cough or sneeze, and washing your hands. There are some little medicine cups in your lunch boxes to take during lunch. He also said to call him if either of you don't feel well, and he will come get you." She glanced at Eleanor with a questioning look. "So, Eleanor, you are staying with David Seville as well?"

Eleanor nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! He's great for taking us in! He's been taking care of me since I've been sick, and Jeanette started staying with us since yesterday."

"And where was Jeanette staying before that?" Miss Garcia asked with a bit of concern.

"With Ian Hawke," Eleanor answered. "...but he threw her out and - "

At that moment Brittany nudged her little sister to be quiet. Brittany finished for her, "Ian Hawke can only keep me at the time, since he says he doesn't have enough money to take care of all three of us. He does what he can, but my sisters have moved in with Dave Seville."

Changing the subject, Eleanor pulled her lunch box out of her bag and opened it to show off its contents. "Oh, Dave even packed me a lunch. He even put in a note with some smiley-face and heart stickers. Now I won't just have to eat out of Theo's lunch. So, if you know any other kids who don't have a lunch, Theo and I both can still share with them."

Miss Garcia smiled at her. "That's wonderful news to hear, Eleanor. And that's very generous of you and Theodore to share your lunches. I'll let you know if anyone else is hungry during lunch, after you take your medicine. That way we can share food, just not germs. Thanks for being willing to share! I will see all of you in class in a few minutes."

Once Miss Garcia was gone, Simon asked Brittany, "So, Brittany, how did you enjoy spending another night in purgatory - I mean, in Ian's apartment?"

Brittany laughed. "It wasn't that bad last night, especially since the managers of the football stadium sent over a basket of blueberry mini-muffins as a gift to wish me good luck with the upcoming performance. At first Ian was freaking out and saying something like, 'How did they find me? I never gave out the address, since I'm not...' then mumbling something about a 'league of sub-outfits-y'. But Ian let Giorgio and I each have two, while he had, like, five."

Simon blinked. "Is it possible he knows he's 'illegally subletting' in the apartment? I mean, you guys were living in a model apartment, it's meant for showing potential tenants the layout of the other apartments in your building, and not meant to be lived-in."

Jeanette explained, "Brittany, Ian is not even a legal tenant of the apartment. But I'm glad you guys got the muffins, since we were the ones who actually got them for you and delivered them, as a way of checking in on you to make sure Ian didn't barbecue you. And now that you ate some muffins, Simon can also track you."

" _Whaaaat?_ " Brittany looked shocked. "That was _you guys_ who sent the muffins?"

"We sure did!" Eleanor squealed. "Simon can explain the tracking thing better than we can, since it was his idea."

Simon explained, "You see, I put a small tracking tag into each muffin. Each tag is disguised as a blueberry. For probably the next twelve hours you, Ian, and Giorgio can be tracked, as long as the blueberries stay in your digestive systems."

"I'm so glad we used blueberry muffins and not bran muffins." Jeanette giggled. "The fiber content of bran muffins would definitely cause them to pass faster, making it harder to track you. So, for your own safety while you stay with Ian, stay away from laxatives and try to stay a little constipated."

" _Ugh!_ " Brittany groaned with an eye roll.

Alvin snickered, "Whaddaya know? She's _nailing_ the act of staying constipated!" The others laughed as the bell rang, letting the kids go to their classrooms.

* * *

During lunch, as the six chipmunks sat around their kiddie picnic table, Eleanor leaned over to see that her sister had only one blueberry mini-muffin in her lunch box. "Oh good, we can still track you for another day! Eat up, Britt, you know it's good for you."

"Ha, ha, ha." Brittany was not amused. "Looks like Ian wants to make sure I stay thin enough to fit into my dress for the performance next week."

"Been there!" Eleanor nodded sympathetically. "Here, you can have some of my lunch." She offered her open lunchbox.

"Thank you, Ellie." Brittany accepted some extra orange slices, and a handful of mixed nuts.

Eleanor rubbed her sister's shoulder. "By the way, do Ian and Giorgio ever talk about me? Or how much they've missed me while I've been sick?"

Brittany smiled and shook her head. "It's weird they haven't really mentioned you since Monday afternoon. That's when they asked Jeanette where you were, then _I_ told them that you were sick at the 'Coulter's house', and that the Coulter family was taking care of you. Then Jeanette got punished for 'letting you get sick'. You know, the usual... Sorry they haven't said any more about you. If it makes you feel any better, _I_ missed both of you - well really, all five of you." She patted Eleanor while glancing around the table at the others, who were still eating.

Eleanor shrugged with a contented smile. "Aww, we missed you, too! And that's cool if Ian and Giorgio don't miss me. I mean, I haven't missed them all that much. OK, I'll admit that if I miss either of them any, it's Giorgio - but just a little bit. But hey, I _really_ love Dave - he's a gazillion times better than both of those guys put together. When I'm with Dave, I actually feel...home. And I never knew what it felt like to _feel_ home before, or feel that I have a daddy who loves me. Not just a 'father' or a 'dad', but a real ' _daddy_ '." She sighed, "I even miss Dave already. And I can hardly wait to come home to the Seville house to see Dave." She cleared her throat, "But I can make it through the rest of the day at school, and see him when we get home off the bus, now that I've had my medicine!"

"Britt!" Alvin got her attention from across the table as he motioned with a red grape in his free right hand.

She chuckled. "OK, just once. But not because I'm tired after Ian's training me for my solo career yesterday - it's because the teachers might see us and get us in trouble for playing with our food."

Alvin tossed the grape, and Brittany caught it in her mouth. "Yay!" He cheered, still trying not to call too much attention to their table.

The two of them shared a high-five, but Alvin held onto her hand just a little bit longer. "Oh, before I forget, there's something I didn't get to give you earlier today."

"Oh yeah? What is it?" Brittany smiled, wondering what it could be.

"Just a moment..." Alvin stood up and seemed to dig for something in his pocket. When he turned back around, he had a smooth river rock about the size of the palm of his hand, like one from some yard landscaping. "It's a rock to throw at Ian for me when he's mean to you. For your own sake, My Princess, don't miss!"

At first, Brittany blinked in surprise and shrugged , "Thanks, Alvin, you sure know what every girl wants - a rock." But she appreciated the sentiment behind it of Alvin wanting to protect her. She pretended to model it for the other chipmunks as though it were a piece of jewelry. "Oh, Alvin, it even goes with my outfit! Thank you, My Hero In Shining Armor!" She put her arms around his shoulders in a hug.

As he returned the embrace, he rubbed the back of her shoulders. "Even though my family knows where you live now, and we have a way of tracking you, I still want you to be able to defend yourself if I have a hard time getting to you. I mean, I couldn't sleep as well last night - not just because I was the only one under our roof who wasn't sharing a bed with someone, but because I kept having nightmares about what Ian and Giorgio may have done to you. It's scary what I know they are capable of doing!"

Brittany patted his left shoulder as she let go of the hug to return to her seat. "It'll be OK - _I'll_ be OK. Ian is completely out of a job if I don't perform for him. And I have to be alive so I can perform. Unlike how he feels about you, Ian loves me. I'm his 'superstar', and Giorgio loves me, since I'm his 'Li'l Princess' - "

"Whoa! I'm gonna stop you right there!" Alvin returned to his seat across from her and adamantly put up his hand.

The others gasped as they watched, wondering if Alvin and Brittany were going to fight, since they both seemed tense after Alvin's motion.

"Guys, talk it out..." Jeanette stood up and tried to calm them, especially Brittany.

Simon tried to diffuse Alvin's anger by leaning over and whispering to him, "Remember, Alvin, you just gave her a rock. Don't tempt her to use it on you."

"Would that be considered 're-gifting'?" Theodore whispered back to Simon.

Alvin blinked and took a deep breath to calm himself. He apologized to his friend, "Sorry, Britt, I guess I just feel jealous that anyone else would call you _their_ 'princess', since I already love you so much and think of you as ' _My_ Princess'. I thought that was _our_ thing."

Brittany chuckled and patted his hand on the table. "I'm sorry too, Alvin. It _is_ our thing. It's just that...Giorgio has called me his ' _Li'l_ Princess' before I even met you, since I'm also a lot smaller than him. But you call me _your_ Princess, since we're close to the same size. And...that sounded more like a bigger difference in my head..." She sighed. "I guess I mean, I love you too, and even though Giorgio has called me his 'Li'l Princess' before I met you, it doesn't mean _near_ as much to me as it does when I hear _you_ call me 'My Princess'. And maybe that's because _you're_ 'My Hero In Shining Armor', while Giorgio is not."

"Aww, Britt, that's so sweet!" Alvin got up to hug her again. "I love you, and you're my best friend in the world!"

"You're my best friend, Alvin! I love you, too!" Brittany returned the hug, while the others seated beside them all cooed "Aww..."

This time as they released and sat down, they continued to clasp hands. Alvin chuckled, "I'm so glad everything is good again. I mean, who even remembers why we almost had a fight? I sure don't."

When Brittany shrugged, Theodore raised his hand. "Ooh, ooh! It was because Brittany said that Ian loves her and calls her his 'superstar', and Giorgio loves her and calls her his 'Princess' - I mean, his 'Little Princess' - but that made Alvin jealous that anyone would say they love Brittany more than he does and dare to call her 'Princess'."

Simon slapped his own forehead. "Thank you, Theodore. Sometime I will need to explain to you the concept of 'forgive and forget'."

Brittany sighed, "That's OK. I think it's sweet that Alvin feels that way about me. But at the time I was merely telling him that he doesn't need to worry about Ian trying to barbecue me, since he loves me enough to keep me alive so I can sing at the halftime show. I can always leave Ian afterwards, I just don't want to let my fans down."

Alvin blinked and affectionately squeezed her hands. "It's just that...to be honest, that doesn't sound like true love to me. I mean, back when _we_ lived with Ian, I used to think Ian loved me, since he often told me I was his favorite boy chipmunk." He looked over to his brothers and explained, "No offense to you guys, but we all know he was really like, 'Simon who?' and 'Theodore who?' We all know it, so we might as well say it." He looked back to Brittany. "Sure, for every time he would ruffle my hair, kiss my cheeks, or tickle my belly, there were five more times when he would flick me in the head, arms, butt, or privates with his big, sausage-y man fingers. Luckily, Dave doesn't do that to me, no matter how mad he gets with me. Sure, Dave grounds me, sends me to my room, and makes me stand in the corner with my nose to the wall, but he's told me that because he's so much bigger than me, he's worried he might hurt me too much if he did any of that 'corporate punishment'."

Simon corrected him, "I think you mean ' _corporeal_ punishment', like spanking. Because of the size difference between Dave and us, he will have us spank each other with an object the size of our hands, instead of he himself spanking us. But punishment gets all the more real when your dad tells you to spank your brother while he watches and sternly gives the 'this-is-gonna-hurt-me-more-than-it-hurts-you' speech. It honestly hurts me more to spank my brothers than it does feeling them spank me. And it hurts more to spank my usually-innocent little brother Theodore than it hurts to spank my usually-guilty little brother Alvin. I definitely take Dave more seriously after those times!"

Theodore laughed. "And he also knows the three of us spank each other while goofing off in brotherly love. Before Eleanor and I got sick this weekend, I know I saw a few times that you girls would do that to each other, too."

Jeanette smiled. "I guess it's not exclusively a brother thing or exclusively a sister thing, it's a universal sibling thing."

Alvin looked back at Brittany. "Spanking story aside, I was trying to say earlier that since I've known Dave and we moved back in with him, Ian would only say that he loved us in the same sentence when he would call us his 'little money-makers'. Dave tells us he loves us all the time and calls us all his sons, like when tucking us into bed, or even after punishing us - especially after punishing me and telling me to go to my room, since I'm the crazy middle child who gets in trouble a lot. But he always reminds me that he's 'disciplining me because he loves me', and that he 'knows I'm a good kid who sometimes does bad things', and he wants to 'teach me to grow up to be a person of good character'. I guess I realize that I didn't know what love really was when I lived with Ian. Compared to how Dave loves me, Ian may have at best just 'liked me a lot'. Right now, Ian may say that he _loves_ you because you are his superstar, but he really just _likes_ you because you're his superstar. I know because he once felt the same way about me. But Dave _actually_ loves you no matter what, because he thinks of you as his daughter. I know because he loves me as his son, no matter what. And he would do anything for me and my brothers. I know he would do the same for you and your sisters."

At that moment, the bell rang to dismiss the kids for recess.

As Brittany stood while she closed her lunchbox and saw the others closing up theirs, she smiled at Alvin. "Thank you, Alvin. I just don't want you - or Dave - to stay worried about me. I assure you I will be OK."

Alvin smiled at her as he carried his lunchbox in his left hand, while clasping Brittany's left hand in his right hand. "Both me and Dave will still think and pray about you every night we are apart. And we'll still miss you. So, Britt, I was wondering...would you at least like to spend another weekend sleeping over at our place?"

Brittany smiled back at him and squeezed his hand. "I'd love to!" She looked a little more uneasy. "Oh, I don't know if Ian will be open to more sleepovers. But I'll see what I can do..."

* * *

 **A/N:** Just to be clear, I think spanking still has a place, and not always as a punishment. Apparently siblings still spank each other while goofing off or wrestling. It happened with my family a lot. My sister and I used to do that, and one day we passed the torch to our nieces while goofing off with them (one niece was 5, the other was almost 2). The five-year-old even got jealous when we spanked the two-year-old (even though it didn't hurt her, since her diaper was thick). She was like, "No! She's _my_ sister! I'm the only one who gets to spank her!" Hmm...we weren't aware of that rule.

Ian also called Brittany his 'superstar' in "The Squeak-quel", and he would also call the Chipettes as a whole his "little money-makers". Maybe he did the same with the Chipmunks in the first one, but it's been a while since I've seen that movie. Also, the title of this chapter is a nod to the Foreigner song "I Want To Know What Love Is", which plays in the background in "The Squeak-quel" when the Chipmunks and Chipettes meet for the first time at the lockers.


	23. Second Thoughts

**Chip-ergarten**

 **About This Story:** The Chipmunks start Kindgarten and meet some mysterious new friends, the Chipettes. Some similarities may overlap with "The Squeakquel", only they are in Kindergarten. Warning: some chapters contain some harsher adult(-ish) themes, even though age-wise they are 5. I don't own any part of the Chipmunk franchise, just borrowing them from Nickelodeon, Janice Karman,  & Ross Bagdasarian, their family, & their company.

 **About This Chapter:** Rated PG-13(T), for mentions of physical abuse, as well as a child in states of dress and undress conversing with adults, as well as some harsher language.

 **Pairings:** Alvin/Brittany

* * *

 **23\. Second Thoughts**

"Darling, that was beautiful!" Giorgio applauded Brittany's rehearsal as she used the piano in the loft apartment as her stage on Wednesday evening.

"Thank you!" Brittany curtsied to him at the end of her rehearsal.

Ian gave a satisfied smile. "Better. I know since it's just you, we've had to take out the harmony and replace it with a few melody changes. But you're getting it. I knew all we needed was your voice."

"One thing I still don't understand..." began Brittany. "Are you sure I should dance around so much and curtsy at the end? This dress is already so tiny. Either that, or I could use some bright pink bloomers or shorts that match the dress. I don't feel completely comfortable letting the world see my white panties. I feel like this is just _asking_ for a wardrobe malfunction." Her dress was basically a bright pink frocked baby-doll dress with little white hearts and white lace around the edges. It had a sweetheart neckline, lacy straps tied in halter-top fashion, a sash tied in a bow in the small of her back, and it barely came down to the bottom of her white panties. It basically looked more like an apron to a dress than an actual dress, leaving her back mostly bared. Her shoes were light-pink Mary Janes with fluffy pink bows on them, and her socks were white with a ruffled fringe.

"But, Baby, you look so cute!" Giorgio remarked. "You remind me of how Shirley Temple got her start on ' _Baby Burlesques_ '. That's actually the look we were going for. It's perfect for you, and perfect for the songs you'll be singing."

"Then, could I change some of the songs?" Brittany asked. "This outfit is skimpier than some bathing suits, and I feel kinda naked - especially my back and my legs."

"Don't you be giving me attitude, young lady! It's too late to change the songs. Or your wardrobe." Ian pointed his finger at her adamantly. "Besides, you can actually get away with looking so sexy in that. Your baby sister would be popping out of an outfit like that, and your geeky big sister would be too shy onstage to sing in a sexy babydoll frock."

Brittany crossed her arms. "Well, to be honest, I don't like this outfit. I mean, where's the rest of it? And what dad in his right mind would let even his teenage daughter wear something like this out of the house? I'm only five, and I don't think a good dad would think this outfit is appropriate for me, either. I mean, I feel like I'm wearing a nightie!"

Ian argued with her. "No, no, no! Brittany, I could show you a nightie and make you perform in that if I want. Heck, I'd even make you perform naked, if it weren't a family halftime show. And it is not your job or your place to tell me how to 'parent' you. I'm your manager, and you are my little performer and money-maker. Honestly, where did you get the idea that we were family? You are just a pretty performing girl chipmunk who would be a nobody if it weren't for me managing your career."

Brittany sighed. She knew it was futile to argue with Ian, especially while he was showing his true colors. Manager was all he ever wanted to be to her, and all he thought of her was just as a "performing monkey" with a chipmunk tail, dolled up in pretty makeup and a dress that was more like lingerie. Was it too late to runaway to live with the Seville family? Would Dave let her perform with his other children - including her sisters?

Ian interrupted her thoughts as he stroked his fingers along her back stripes from the nape of her neck to where her tail began. "Hey, Brittany, my little superstar, sorry if I may be a bit edgy right now. I'm under a lot of pressure for this performance, and I'm glad I have you...and just you. Your sisters only complicated things and stressed me out even more. But I don't need them. I just need you...I just _want_ you. I think we're both getting tired for now." He glanced over at his assistant. "Parnetti, wash off her makeup and get her out of her performance outfit. I'm gonna go find a sexy nightie for her so she can sleep in something more comfortable." With that, he left the room.

Giorgio smiled as he sat down on the piano bench to look at his favorite girl chipmunk. With his right hand, he used a dampened washcloth to wash the makeup off her face. With his left hand, he stroked the stripes on her back. Once he came to the back of the dress, he untied the sash and slipped it completely off. When the dress was off, he slipped the panties down to around her ankles. He saw her struggling anxiously, so he kissed the side of her face near her left ear to calm her. "It's OK, Li'l Princess, you're just gonna get a bit of a sponge-bath before bed. I know I usually give you medicine before this kinda thing, but I can always do that later."

"But I don't want any medicine. I'm not sick." Brittany whimpered. "Not like Eleanor, she's been sick this week and she's taking medicine she actually needs."

Giorgio continued to stroke his fingers along her skin in various places. "Eleanor who? Oh, that's right - your baby sister. That's cool. The Coulter family can keep her as long as they need to give her medicine. I don't think Uncle Ian is in any hurry to get her back. He's also in no hurry to take back your other sister Jenna - I mean, Jeanette." When he could sense her struggling uncomfortably, he tried picking her up.

"Please don't..." Brittany pushed away from his face when he tried kissing her again.

"What's wrong, Li'l Princess? You know I'm just giving you sweet night-night kisses? You like night-night kisses." Giorgio asked with a confused expression. "Oh, wait..." He looked around to ensure that Ian was still out of the room. "Are you trying to save yourself for your little boyfriend, my Li'l Squirt? How are things going with him? Give me some details, girl!"

Brittany shot him a questioning look. "Oh, you mean Alv - ?"

"Shh!" Giorgio placed his hand over her mouth and whispered to her, "You know your Uncle Ian will kill me if he hears you say the 'A' word. But, yes, I mean him."

"He's nothing like how Uncle Ian talks about him." Brittany blinked. "He's very nice, and so are his brothers. I play castle with him everyday on the slides, and he's my knight in shining armor who rescues me. He's also my best friend in the world. I call him 'My Hero' and he calls me 'My Princess'. And, sorry to tell you this, Uncle Gi-gi, but he gets jealous of anyone else calling me 'Princess', since I'm _his_ Princess and no one else's."

Giorgio slightly rolled his eyes and nodded. "Ahh, the jealous type, is he? How adorable is that! Would you rather get some little sweet night-night kisses from him? And if you only saw him in his cute little birthday suit like I have - whoa, girl, how could you ever keep your hands off him? What, with his cute little tushie and his cute...nicely equipped manly-bits for his age, considering the size of the rest of him." Giorgio smiled as he daydreamed. "Oooh, girl, I could just spank, pinch, tickle, and kiss him all over every day..."

Brittany gulped nervously as she saw Ian coming back. It made her uncomfortable to hear Giorgio talking about her friend's body as if he were a plaything. She realized at that moment that she felt more comfortable taking a bath with Alvin and the other four chipmunk children than she did right now.

"What are you girls talking about?" Ian asked jokingly as he held up the little silky white lingerie nightie that he wanted to put on Brittany.

To change the subject and maintain their cover, Brittany thought of something. "Oh, Uncle Ian, I was wondering if I could visit my sisters at the Coulter house this coming weekend. I could come back no later than Monday after school. And I could also make sure my sisters come back with me, so they don't miss the big halftime performance we have for the next weekend. Is it OK if I go visit them, Uncle Ian?"

Ian dressed her in the nightie, while removing her socks, shoes, and panties that were still around her ankles. "Oh, you didn't know that this performance is just you? Brittany, Brittany, Brittany...you are my superstar as a solo act. I don't care about your sisters anymore."

"But, Uncle Ian, I thought we were booked as 'The Chipettes'? Are you sure I'm ready for a solo career? Could they at least join me for one song? Whatever happened to our motto of 'We sing together, or not at all?' Can I still visit them for the weekend?" Brittany was full of such questions.

Ian sighed. "No. Your sisters are no longer in our program. I no longer have any use for them. I told you - you're the superstar. I don't need, nor do I _want_ your chubby sister or your geeky sister with the glasses who is afraid of her own shadow." He rubbed part of his right hand where he had a bandage between his thumb and index finger. "Your sister who did _this_ to me when her head got so big that she quit. Why do you want to see them again, anyways? You are too much of a mega-ultra-superstar to need the likes of them. So, no, Brittany, you cannot visit them this weekend or sleepover with them. You are done with them!"

Brittany got angry. "Ian, don't talk about my sisters like that! I love them, and I know they love me, and have been there for me throughout my whole life. So what if Eleanor isn't as thin as Jeanette and me? She's still one of the most caring, positive, and encouraging people I know! And so what if Jeanette doesn't have twenty-twenty vision, and that she's super-shy and kinda clumsy? She's one of the warmest and sweetest people I know! And I don't blame her for being afraid of you for most of the time we've worked with you - you yell at her for no reason whatsoever! She was right to take a bite out of you!"

"Oh, was she, now?" Ian challenged her.

"Yes, she was!" Brittany spat at him. "Ian, you are such a hypocrite! I mean, _you're_ not exactly thin, and _you_ wear glasses. You've got a lot of nerve picking on my sisters and making such personal remarks about them for things like that!"

"And you have a lot of attitude right now, young lady!" Ian crossed his arms and stared her down. "Do you want to go to bed early? And sleep in the Punishment Cage tonight?"

Brittany glared back at him. "Whoa! For someone who says we are not family, you sure are treating me like a child - and you're doing it wrong, too!"

Ian pretended to be offended by her affront. "Oh, I'm 'treating you wrong', am I? Since when are _you_ the expert?"

Brittany crossed her arms angrily. "Yeah, you're dressing me in these horrible outfits, working me like your slave, making sure you can resell me as a slave when you're done with me, yelling at my sisters and me, and I never hear you say that you are doing any of this out of love. In fact, I don't think love has anything to do with your managing us at all. My sisters are right - we don't need you as our manager, you're the one who needs us as your little 'money-makers'! That's all we ever were to you! Oh, you could sure learn a thing or two about parenting and unconditional love, from a wonderful dad and better manager like Dave Seville!"

Ian's jaw dropped as he glanced questioningly at Giorgio, while Brittany slapped her hand over her mouth. " _Oh my gosh! Did I just blow the cover story my sisters have been using this past week_?" She thought to herself.

Ian took a deep breath and sighed as he began to uncover the lie. " _Et tu_ , Parnetti? Did you know about any of this?"

Giorgio's eyes were wide, and he shrugged nervously. Was he actually afraid of his boss right now? "Uhh..."

Ian intently looked back at the girl chipmunk. "Have you been lying to me this whole week about the 'Coulters', young lady? Have you and both of your sisters been slowly moving in with the Sevilles?"

Brittany froze and cowered as Ian held his left thumb and index finger in a pinch-ready position on the back of her neck. Her mouth felt completely dry and she could not bring herself to talk. All she could do was nod and hang her head in shame-which was becoming increasingly more difficult as Ian's grip tightened on her neck.

When he just saw her cowering, he yelled, "ANSWER ME, BRITTANY!"

"Boss...Sir, if I may..." Giorgio butted in. "I didn't know she - or the others - were actually _moving in_ with the Sevilles. All I knew was that she made friends with Alvin after hanging out with him in the nurse's office last Tuesday. And that she plays with him at recess everyday. I ask her every night she sleeps in my room how things are going with her 'little boyfriend', and she insists that Alvin is her _best_ friend. It's kinda inevitable that they see each other everyday - they're in the same class."

Ian blinked in shock. "Wow, Parnetti, you've actually been siding with the little rats in keeping secrets from me? If you feel that way about them, I don't know why I should still even give you a paycheck. Parnetti, you pack your bags and get outta here ASAP. You are fired!" When Giorgio hesitated for a moment, Ian pointed with his right hand towards the bedrooms. "I SAID GO!"

"May I at least say goodbye to - ?" Giorgio stammered.

"NO! I SAID PACK YOUR BAGS AND GO!" Ian yelled as Giorgio staggered out of the room.

Brittany cringed every time Ian yelled, since he still held the back of her neck in a pinch with his left hand. Despite Giorgio's creepy nature and his unwanted physical affections that made her uncomfortable, Brittany shed a few tears seeing him suddenly expelled from her life without a chance to say goodbye. After all, there were many times when he felt more like family to her than Ian, and she saw uncles as permanent relatives. There was no such thing to her as an "ex-uncle". " _Goodbye, Uncle Gi-gi, I still love you and I will never forget you._ " She muttered under her breath as she tried to wave at him.

For nearly half an hour, Ian continued to clamp down on the back of Brittany's neck, pushing down on her until she was in a kneeling position. All the while, he continued yelling at Giorgio to pack faster, as well as plenty of other derogatory comments about his orientation and such that Brittany didn't really want to hear - or _need_ to hear at five years of age. Any time she would whimper or cry out loud, Ian wouldn't even look at her, he just tightened his grip.

Finally, Giorgio had several bags packed as he stepped out the door with red eyes and tear-stained cheeks. He blew a quick kiss in Brittany's direction as he left.

"OUT, PARNETTI!" Ian yelled one last time, preventing any further benedictions between Brittany and her Uncle Giorgio.

Once Ian started slowly turning to face Brittany, he scowled and his eyes burned with anger against her. But she remembered from visiting the church service with the Sevilles that she could pray silently from anywhere in the world, and a loving God would still hear her. She silently prayed that Ian wouldn't barbecue her. But his eyes were already burning her emotionally to the third-degree. "As for you, you little rat..."

Ian scowled at her in a few more moments of awkward silence. Suddenly, he released her neck, and the girl chipmunk fell to all fours, releasing a breath she had been holding. But her relief was short-lived. For Ian suddenly snatched her up and held her by the tail in his left hand. With his right hand, he ripped off the nightie, oblivious to her pain as the fabric of the shoulder straps burned her shoulders and upper arms. "ALRIGHT, BITCH, START TALKING!"

All Brittany could do was wail in pain and fear for several minutes. But she was finally able to ask, through bouts of hiccups, "If I tell you the truth, what next?" She didn't want to give him any ideas by specifically mentioning the word "barbecue".

Ian laughed vengefully, before answering her, "Guess what, young lady - you _are_ going to a sleepover tonight after all - in the Punishment Cage! I'll also be taking you to school tomorrow morning, and while you're there I'll figure out what else to do with you."

Brittany closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief as she silently prayed again, "Thank you, God! He might not barbecue me tonight!"

* * *

 **A/N:** Giorgio's opening quote ("Darling, that was beautiful!") is a nod to the Nickelodeon cartoon episode "Brittany The Body-Snatcher". And Brittany is using the red piano from Ian's loft apartment in "The Squeak-quel". "We sing together, or not at all," is also the motto Brittany tells Ian in "The Squeak-quel".


	24. We'll Cover You

**Chip-ergarten**

 **About This Story:** The Chipmunks start Kindgarten and meet some mysterious new friends, the Chipettes. Some similarities may overlap with "The Squeakquel", only they are in Kindergarten. Warning: some chapters contain some harsher adult(-ish) themes, even though age-wise they are 5. I don't own any part of the Chipmunk franchise, just borrowing them from Nickelodeon, Janice Karman,  & Ross Bagdasarian, their family, & their company.

 **About This Chapter:** Rated PG-13(T), for some mentions of male and female genitalia and underwear, as well as some physical abuse and injuries incurred from that.

 **Pairings:** Alvin/Brittany, Simon/Jeanette, Theodore/Eleanor

* * *

 **24\. We'll Cover You**

"Brittany? Hmm...that's odd." Simon scratched his head after he and the other four chipmunk children got to the school atrium on Thursday morning. "According to the tracker app on this phone, it says Brittany is already here at school, but I don't see her in our usual meeting area."

"Maybe she's in the bathroom." Eleanor shrugged. "Want me to check?"

"Are you sure she's not still outside?" Alvin asked. "Theo and I could go check."

Before anyone could leave, they heard, "Pssssst!" It was coming from behind a trash bin in the corner. They soon heard Brittany's voice whispering, "Guys, I'm back here."

The five of them ran to the trash bin to see her. Jeanette reached out to take hold of her sister's left hand. "Britt, are you OK? What's wrong? Why are you back there?"

Brittany was still behind the trash bin to where the others could only see her face. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she seemed very anxious and sad. Brittany just started sobbing. "I'm so sorry! I should've listened to you guys. You guys were right all along! Ian _is_ a monster! I just lost a _huge_ argument with him last night, and I'm ready to come home with you guys to see Dave - if he'll still have me."

"Of course Dave will still want you to come home with us! He _loves_ you!" Theodore assured her.

"Thanks, Theodore." Brittany sniffled as she started to feel better. "Gather in real close and tight, and I'll show you how Ian dressed me this morning. It's bad!" As five pairs of feet shuffled into a tight semi-circle around the opening between the wall and the trash bin, Brittany sighed gratefully. "Thanks, guys. For the record, I was just gonna show my sisters, but since we've all taken baths together this past weekend, it's nothing the boys haven't seen before. Ready?"

Once she heard a chorus of "Yep", "OK", "Sure", from the others, she let go of Jeanette's hand and stepped out from behind the trash bin, slightly leaning forward. She was wearing a torn and wadded-up brown paper bag with some greasy food stains all over it as if it were a bathrobe vest that came down to her knees. Also like a bathrobe, she was holding it closed with both her hands. On her feet were some styrofoam cups worn as slippers. Alvin gave a small but sarcastic wolf-whistle, which made her smile.

" _That's_ what Ian made you wear?" Eleanor looked confused. "Talk about 'one person's trash is another person's fashion treasure'. Even though I still think Ian is a monster, that outfit he picked still doesn't look half bad."

Brittany chuckled. "Oh, _this_ old thing? No, this is a little something that I put together from stuff I found in this trash can once I got here. _This_ is what Ian made me wear..." She moved her left hand so that it opened her makeshift bathrobe, while using her right hand to hold the paper bag and the hemline of her skirt just below the front of her right hip. Underneath was the bright pink babydoll frock that Ian made her wear during last night's rehearsal - and only that. The others' jaws all dropped and all eyes went wide in shock.

Brittany sighed and explained, "This is supposed to be my performance outfit for next weekend. Ian carried me here very early in the morning, without shoes so I couldn't run away, and without anything underneath this 'dress' - if you can even call it that - to 'put me in my place' so that I would be grateful to be at least wearing panties for the performance, when I asked for shorts or bloomers. And he said, 'That'll teach you to talk back to me, you little...' then a word I'd rather not repeat."

Jeanette put her arms around her little sister. "You poor thing! What kind of argument was it? Did he also make you spend the night in the Punishment Cage?"

Brittany nodded and tried to return the hug with her left hand while using her right hand to hold down the hem of the dress in the front as she straightened up. She winced as she did so. "Oh, Ian also whipped me pretty hard on my butt and the back of my legs with some nightie that got torn last night after our argument, and he tore a chunk of fur from my tail, so occasionally I'm still bleeding - both from the whipping and from the torn-off fur. And I have some bad fabric burn on my shoulders and upper arms, where he tore off that same nightie he almost made me sleep in."

Eleanor hugged her from the right side, while Alvin held out his lunchbox in front of her. "Here, you probably want to hug your sisters with both hands. Even though I've seen... the part of you behind my lunchbox, I know you don't want everyone else in the world to see it. And I feel kinda bad seeing it if I'm not also letting you see mine, and this just doesn't feel like a good time or place for that."

"Thank you, Alvin." Brittany said with a sniffle as she hugged his shoulders with both of her hands, while Eleanor held Alvin's lunchbox in place between them.

Alvin returned the hug for a moment, before he took a step back. "Ian didn't hurt you _there_ , too, did he?"

Brittany shook her head as Simon hugged both of them from Brittany's left side. "Thank goodness! I don't have any experience giving first aid to...girls in that area. But if needed, I would do my best and be as professional as possible - or I'd just try to take you to Nurse Stephens's office."

"I'm just glad you're OK now!" Theodore hugged her from the right side.

Alvin continued to embrace her with his hands, but his head got off her shoulder so he could look at her face. "But still, Britt, please try not to get any girl cooties or vagina-juice or whatever on my lunchbox. I do still plan on eating food out of that for lunch."

Brittany blinked as she looked at him. "What?"

Simon popped the back of his brother's head with his left hand. "Alvin, that's all just an urban legend, or an old wives' tale, and I have no idea where you heard it, so forget about all of it. Right now, I'm just concerned for Brittany's health and safety. I mean, since she's coming home with us, _now_ can we tell our teacher the whole story? I don't know what else we can tell her once she sees how Brittany is dressed in a paper bag and a negligé, and styrofoam cup slippers."

Brittany sighed again. "Yeah, now would be the time to finally tell Ms Garcia. I mean, I'm sorry to tell you guys this, but the cat's out of the bag with Ian, too."

Alvin gasped. "Britt, you don't mean..."

She winced. "I'm sorry, but during my big argument with Ian, the name 'Dave Seville' accidentally slipped out of me. Ian kinda pieced it all together and realized that I just made up the 'Coulter Family' as a cover story, but that my sisters and I were moving in with you boys. And poor Uncle Gi-gi...he knew about my friendship with Alvin the whole time, and he's asked me every night about how things were going between me and his 'Li'l Squirt', or my 'little boyfriend'."

Alvin raised an eyebrow as he and Brittany shared a funny look and gagged. "Ewww! No offense or anything, Britt, I just don't think of you that way. You're still My Princess, and I'm still your Hero, and someday I'll marry you and we'll live happily ever after. But your 'little boyfriend'? It just sounds weird when Uncle Giorgio says it." He shuddered.

"I'm so glad you finally see how the rest of us think he's a creep." Simon patted Alvin's right shoulder.

Brittany sniffled. "Well, it's just...creep or not, I felt - and still feel - like Giorgio is family. I mean, you can pick your friends, but not your family. And as uncomfortable as I was with him, especially after getting to know Dave, I was still heartbroken when Ian fired him."

"What?" The others gasped.

Brittany started crying. "I didn't even get to say goodbye to him. Ian just yelled at him to tell him to pack his bags and get out. The whole time, Ian was pinching the back of my neck so I couldn't move." She moved her head around and winced again, showing a bruise on the back of her neck. "For all his faults, Uncle Gi-gi made life with Ian more bearable."

"I know what you mean." Alvin nodded sympathetically. "I still love him even though I hate what he did to me, or to my brothers and to your sisters."

Brittany continued. "But now that he's not there anymore, I _definitely_ can't stand the thought of going back to Ian after school today. I'm ready to come home - to the Seville house, to Dave...and to all of you guys - my _real_ family."

At that moment, the first morning bell rang, letting the kids go to their classrooms.

Alvin shared a brief look between Simon and Brittany, letting them know he already had a plan. He looked over at the two littler chipmunks. "Theo, you and Ellie go to the classroom. Tell Ms Garcia that the rest of us are in the bathrooms, just in case we're late. And now that all the girls are coming home with us, you can even tell Ms Garcia the whole story."

"Right!" Theodore and Eleanor nodded together as they headed to class.

Alvin looked at Jeanette. "Jeanette, you tend to Brittany in the girls' restroom and see if she needs any first aid while Simon and I find some underwear she can wear today."

"Right." Jeanette nodded as she put her arm around Brittany to lead her to the girls' restroom, while Brittany held the paper bag shut like a robe again, handing Alvin his lunchbox.

Brittany turned and said sarcastically to Alvin, "Try not to get any boy cooties or penis-juice on any underwear you find for me."

"Very funny." Alvin rolled his eyes as he took Simon by the arm to lead him to the boys' restroom.

Once the two brothers were alone, Simon asked him, "Alvin, why exactly do you need me to go to the restroom with you?"

Alvin started chuckling. "Well, Simon, now that you ask...heh, heh, heh...since I might want to play some sports during recess, and I don't want to risk chafing my privates - again... I'm also pretty sure you will just do 'nerd stuff', even during recess. And, since your underwear will probably fit Brittany better than my underwear will..."

"I'm gonna stop you right there, Bro, since I can already see where this is going." Simon rolled his eyes.

Alvin begged him, "Please, Simon, it's not so much for me as it's for Brittany. You said so yourself that you care about Brittany's health and safety."

Simon sighed. "Hang on, Alvin, I was already gonna say yes."

"Really?" Alvin hugged his older brother. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, Simon! You're the awesomest brother ever!"

Simon returned the hug with a smile. "You know I'll do anything for any of the girls. They're family. I'm totally OK with letting Brittany wear my underwear. Yours might fall off of her." When he released the hug, he looked at Alvin. "But, Alvin, please promise to make sure I don't get pantsed during recess, or throughout the rest of the day while I'm going commando. OK?"

Alvin smiled and shook Simon's hand. "OK, deal."

* * *

 **A/N:** We know from the Nickelodeon cartoon episode "She's Got Style", that Brittany (and Jeanette) can make "Project Runway"-ready stuff out of garbage. How cute is it that Alvin still calls Brittany "My Princess", she still calls him "My Hero", and they dream of getting married someday, but Alvin thinks it's weird when other people describe their relationship using words like "boyfriend" or "girlfriend"?...! Ah, young love! And the workings of the mind of a 5-year-old!


	25. Conference

**Chip-ergarten**

 **About This Story** : The Chipmunks start Kindgarten and meet some mysterious new friends, the Chipettes. Some similarities may overlap with "The Squeakquel", only they are in Kindergarten. Warning: some chapters contain some harsher adult(-ish) themes, even though age-wise they are 5. I don't own any part of the Chipmunk franchise, just borrowing them from Nickelodeon, Janice Karman, & Ross Bagdasarian, their family, & their company.

 **About This Chapter** : Rated PG-13, for mentions of underwear, child abuse, kidnapping, and a traumatic event at school

 **Pairings** : Alvin/Brittany, Simon/Jeanette, Theodore/Eleanor

* * *

 **25\. Conference**

"Ms Garcia?" Dave lightly tapped the open classroom door to announce himself. "Hi, I'm David Seville. I haven't seen you since the school open house nearly two weeks ago."

Ms Garcia set down her sandwich and stood to greet her visitor. "I'm so glad you could come in for a parent-teacher conference on such short notice." She shook his hand and beckoned him to sit in an empty chair next to her desk. "Right now, the kids are wrapping up lunch and about to go to recess. I hope you were able to get something to eat before you came."

"Yes, thank you." Dave nodded as he sat in the chair and placed a small plastic bag on the desk. "I brought the extra clothes for Simon, as well as some clothes and shoes for Brittany, as you requested. I'm glad to hear that Brittany made it to school OK, but I was shocked to hear that Simon needed some extra underwear. I mean...I thought, of all of my kids, he was the one most beyond bathroom accidents. But I got the feeling over the phone that you had other reasons for my visit - something more than just delivering extra clothes for the kids."

"Yes, I did." Ms Garcia sighed. "Mister Seville...first of all, please clarify something for me. The Chipmunks - the boys, that is - are your adopted sons, right?"

Dave nodded. "Yes, they are. We made that official a little after they turned four."

"Oh, OK." Ms Garcia was nodding as she was making sense of everything. "And what about the Chipettes - or, the girls? Have you adopted them? Or do they just live with your family? I'm asking because the girls' student files list a different address, a different guardian, and different emergency contacts than your boys' files. But all six of them have been so close, like a little family that has grown up together, even though they met on the first day of school - which has barely been in session two weeks."

Dave blinked. "Well, _some_ of the girls have been staying with my family. All three of them spent the weekend with us for a sleepover. Then Eleanor was sick, so she's stayed home from school at our house, and seen our family doctor. Basically, she has lived with us since Friday. On Monday night, Eleanor was the only one of the girls who stayed with us. Since Tuesday afternoon, Jeanette has been staying with us. But Brittany hasn't been with us since leaving for school on Monday morning. I'm beginning to worry about her. My other kids tell me they see her at school, and she seems OK. But I do pack some extra in their lunchboxes so they can share with her, just in case. And they tell me she has needed it! Ian Hawke doesn't really pack much of a lunch for her - or for any of the girls, when they all stayed with him. You should also hear how Eleanor and Jeanette pray for Brittany every night after their bedtime story. They are worried about her, and they miss her, too."

"Aww..." Ms Garcia chuckled. "That's so sweet! And thank you so much for caring for the girls, as well as the boys. It's very commendable of you. I mean, thanks to you, Eleanor no longer comes to school with an empty lunchbox, or with just a stick of celery and a box of sugar-free vegetable juice. I've even seen little notes with smiley faces, hearts, and stickers included in her lunchbox. I've seen those notes in the lunchboxes of the other four chipmunk children who are staying with you. I've often overheard them bragging about how much their new daddy Dave loves them. It's precious! And I've even started seeing you appear in the girls' drawings of family pictures this week. They brag about you all the time."

"Wow." Dave blinked. "I feel so flattered, and so blessed by all six of them. Those kids have really enriched my life. Little Eleanor has been a sweet and joyful addition to my family. When she's not feeling sick, she likes to watch me cook or help me in the kitchen."

"Oh, and let me tell you about Jeanette..." Ms Garcia's eyes lit up. "During the first week of school, she was so shy and timid, that I didn't even know she could talk. But this week she has seemed happier and been more confident. She participates more in class, and even volunteers to read out loud, since she already _can_ read. I had no idea she was so smart until this week!"

Dave chuckled. "Yeah, Sweet Little Jeanette! I first met her on Friday afternoon, and she seemed like the type who was afraid of her own shadow, she _was_ so timid at first. But she has really come out of her shell since then. She was even afraid of water before her stay with us this past weekend! She said it's because her tail got stuck in the drain of a kitchen sink during a bath and she nearly drowned. But we have an outdoor swimming pool in our backyard, and she learned how to swim, as well as how to have fun and enjoy the water. She enjoys playing with Simon. He really helps her feel safe enough to release her creative and imaginative side."

"She does seem like the 'daddy's girl' type, but she really needed the right 'daddy'." Ms Garcia smiled. "She called the guardian listed in her profile her 'guardian' or maybe her 'manager', but now she actually calls you her 'daddy'."

"That reminds me..." Dave remembered. "If possible, I'd like to be added or listed as the guardian for the girls - all three of them, if possible. But if not possible, I'll settle for being 'emergency contact' for Eleanor and Jeanette. I could be added as Brittany's contact later - I haven't given up on her yet."

"Oh, I will gladly add you to the profiles for all three of the girls." Ms Garcia nodded. "Brittany was saying today that she is more than ready to go home with you this afternoon. This morning, Eleanor and Theodore told me everything they knew about the girls' living situation. There were other signs here and there, but I finally had it confirmed today that they come from an abusive home with their guardian Ian Hawke. When Brittany finally came into the classroom with the other three, I could see for myself the bruises and scrapes she got as 'punishment' from an argument with her guardian. She was also wearing this short dress that looked like the apron for a babydoll. Then she had a paper bag worn like a long vest or a bathrobe, because the dress didn't cover much in the back. She was wearing styrofoam cups as shoes - so I could tell she's a very resourceful person. And she was wearing these blue shorts with white stars all over them, saying that Simon let her wear his underwear as her shorts. The shorts are much longer than the dress, and she said that Ian sent her to school in just the babydoll apron, and that was it - no underwear, no shoes, nothing else!"

Dave's jaw dropped. "That's awful! It's one of the reasons I've been worried about Brittany since I've last seen her. From what I've heard, Ian and his creepy assistant have been grooming Brittany as an underaged prostitute-in-training. This weekend, I had to buy some clothes, pajamas, and swimwear for her - and her sisters - that were appropriate for five-year-old girls. But _she_ was wearing Simon's underwear - that explains that! I knew Simon was beyond bathroom accidents. Although, Alvin has been more protective of her, so I'm surprised he didn't use _his_ underwear to cover Brittany. Plus, Alvin will take any excuse to go commando - getting dressed may come naturally for Simon and Theodore, but I remember I had to teach Alvin to wear clothes."

Ms Garcia explained, "I think they mentioned that thought crossed Alvin's mind this morning. But Brittany has been...somewhat starved this week. She said sharing lunch with her sisters and your boys is the 'best meal she's had all day'. Because of that, Simon's shorts fit her better."

"Poor Brittany!" Dave bit his lip. "I know legally, Ian Hawke is her manager and guardian, and I try to make sure, through the other kids, that she gets better care, at least during the school day. I'm worried that if I let her come home with me - even for a safe haven - that Ian will find some way to charge me with kidnapping. I've also been in the process of talking with my lawyer since Monday to see what I can do to get legal custody of all three girls. In some ways - at least this week - it's just been like playing a game of 'phone tag', and I've lost track of who is 'it'." He chuckled with a sigh.

"Well, if you need any witnesses or anything for this case - especially if it goes to court, feel free to count me in." Ms Garcia smiled. "You may give my contact information to your lawyer, if needed."

"Thank you, Ms Garcia!" Dave sighed with relief. "I'll definitely do that!"

At that moment, they could hear a commotion out in the hallway. There was the sound of little feet shuffling around, and an older female calling out, "Wait! Just a moment, boys, no running in the halls. Slow down!" But the sound of multiple high-pitched voices prevailed, calling out in distress, "Ms Garcia! Ms Garcia!"

"Huh? That sounds like my boys." Dave blinked as the door to the classroom opened, and his three little boys rushed inside.

But as soon as they saw that their father was in the classroom, they changed their cry. "Dave? Dave! Dave!"

The three of them flew into his arms all at once. "Fellas? It's OK. What happened? What's wrong?" Dave tried his best to comfort the upset boy chipmunks. Poor Theodore was still trying to catch his breath, while Simon was crying so hard that his glasses fogged up, and Alvin was convulsing in mixed bouts of wailing and hiccups. When they tried to answer Dave all at once, he put up his hands. "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Not all at once. Now, take a deep breath, guys." He watched as they complied for a few seconds. "And, let it out."

"I'm sorry for the interruption, Ms Garcia, I couldn't stop them." Nurse Stephens called from the doorway.

"It's alright, Nurse Stephens. What happened?" Ms Garcia asked.

"An invasion at recess!" Alvin whined.

"More like an 'Uncle _Ian-vasion_ '." Simon groaned around tears.

"It was so scary!" Theodore cried.

Nurse Stephens explained, "The three girl chipmunks had to leave during recess. Their uncle signed them out at the front office. He first said that he needed Brittany out of school for a 'family emergency', but since he's listed as the guardian of all three girls, he decided to take the others along with her. The girls didn't want to go, and these boys didn't want them to go, either. They even tried to shield the girls from their uncle. But he took some burlap bag out of his briefcase and stuffed the girls into it. He said he was glad he brought a big enough bag 'just in case' they put up a fight, before he disappeared. As you can imagine, it's been pretty traumatic for the other kids to witness all this - screaming about 'stranger dangers' and a possible kidnapping. The other teachers had to end recess earlier to have the kids line up and have an emergency assembly in the gym so we could keep them as calm as possible. We tried explaining that the man was listed as the girls' guardian, but something sure wasn't right about him stuffing them into a bag. Well, these boys broke out of the line, saying they 'needed' to tell their teacher, that it was an emergency."

Oh no! That's awful!" Ms Garcia then motioned to Dave. "Oh, this is David Seville, the father of the boy chipmunks, and he was just telling me about the girls' home situation. Well, the kids also told me this morning, but the girls _do_ come from an abusive situation with their...guardian uncle. Mister Seville is actually in the process of trying to get legal custody of the girls. Even though he _is_ in touch with a layer..." she looked questioningly at him. "Right?" She continued when she saw him nod. "He's still having trouble getting started. But he was earlier telling me that he'd like to be added to the girls' profiles as their emergency contact. But I'd have no problem promoting him to their full guardian - that is, if there's anything we can do about that at school."

The boys in Dave's lap started looking up at their father through their tears with glimmers of hope in their eyes. Their tails even started wagging a little.

"You're adopting them, too?" Theodore blinked.

Dave took a deep breath as he looked into his son's puppy-dog brown eyes. A smile even started growing at his lips. "You know, Theodore, I think I _am_ gonna try for that."

"Really?" All three of the boys perked up. When they saw Dave nodding, they all hugged him. "Yay!"

A determined expression crossed Alvin's face. "But first, we need to rescue them and get them back from Uncle Ian!"

Ms Garcia nodded. "I agree, Alvin. Unfortunately, I don't know where to start looking. I mean, I looked over the girls' student profiles before Mister Seville came, but they don't have a physical address for where they live, only a post office box."

Nurse Stephens added, "And for the business address of their guardian, the profiles list Jett Records, but when I tried calling over there last week for someone to pick up Brittany at school, the receptionist said that the girls' guardian, Ian Hawke, stopped working for them two years earlier. I had to use their emergency contact, a George or Greg...something that started with a 'B', or a 'P'... Parker? Barnett?"

"Giorgio Parnetti?" Simon asked.

"Yes, that's the one!" Nurse Stephens snapped her fingers.

Simon continued, "But he may no longer be in the picture. Brittany told us this morning that Ian just fired him yesterday evening. And it was just Ian by himself who came to kidnap the girls."

Nurse Stephens started to leave the classroom. "Well, I'll tell Principal Matthews about it. If anything, we can still try to get a hold of Mister Parnetti for questioning. Maybe he knows where the girls' uncle is taking them."

Simon sighed as he took something out of his pocket. "On another subject, Dave - Ian even knocked off Jeanette's glasses. He stuffed her in the sack without bothering to give them back to her. I picked them up before they could get broken. But poor Jeanette! Even if she somehow wanted to get away from Ian, she couldn't see to go very far without her glasses." He hung his head, saddened once again.

Dave consoled him as best he could as he accepted the glasses to place them in the bag with the kids' clothes. "Thank you, Simon. I'll make sure to keep these somewhere safe until we can save Jeanette and give her glasses back to her."

"And poor Ellie-Belle!" Theodore sniffled. "She's gonna get sick again without her medicine. And you know Ian wouldn't feed her for the medicine that we take with food, even if he _did_ have her medicine."

"And my poor Princess!" Alvin lamented. "She's not even wearing real good clothes - just some paper bag and squishy white cups she put together to make an outfit - along with the apron-thingy that Ian made her wear, and Simon's boxers. She's gonna get so cold! My boxers would've fallen off of her - the only thing Ian has let her eat this week were a few blueberry mini-muffins."

Dave's face lit up. "Oh yeah, the muffins! Simon, do you think you can still track them on that app with the muffins they have eaten?"

Simon started smiling. "Yes! I think so, Dave. For sure, we saw Brittany eat one twenty-four hours ago. But she said Ian still had a few left, and that he at least ate one in front of her this morning as he took her to school. You know, he was trying to rub it in her face that he was sending her to school without breakfast or lunch. But his own karma will come back to haunt him."

Dave added in a whisper in Simon's ear, "Oh, and I also brought some extra clothes for you...and for Brittany, once we find her." He motioned to the plastic bag that was on Ms Garcia's desk.

"Thank you, Dave!" Simon whispered back to his father, with a wink.

"What were you guys talking about with muffins a moment ago? Did I miss something?" Ms Garcia started looking confused. "And we don't have a physical address to start looking for the girls."

Dave smiled at her. "We actually _do_ know a physical address where we could start looking. And Tuesday evening, when Jeanette started staying with us, Simon came up with an ingenious way of using these tracking tags, each disguised as a blueberry, with one hidden in each mini-muffin when we delivered a basket to where Ian Hawke lives."

"Wow! I'm so glad you thought of that, Simon!" Ms Garcia marveled.

At that moment, the bell rang to end recess, but it was followed by silence instead of the sound of children returning to their classrooms.

Ms Garcia shrugged and glanced at the clock. "Huh, looks like they are still having the emergency assembly in the gym, considering the trauma the kids just witnessed. Anyway, I think given the circumstances, Mister Seville, you may sign out your boys at the office for a family emergency. They are definitely excused for the rest of the day."

Dave smiled. "Oh, thank you, Ms Garcia! And...I can't help but wonder if you or Nurse Stephens would like to come with us, or help out. I might feel better with the help of at least one extra adult who the kids already know and trust. I want to try doing anything necessary to get the girls back safely."

Ms Garcia blinked as she considered his proposition. "You know...I might could get a sub for the rest of the day. But I'd love to help in any way I can! Let me just tell Principal Matthews and Nurse Stephens that there's been an emergency and I need to leave. I might even call my sister, if we need to recruit more help, or get the police." She stood to pack up a few things.

"What can your sister do to help?" Asked Dave as he helped his sons get their things together, along with the girls' stuff.

"Oh...my sister." Ms Garcia explained as she packed. "She's a physician's assistant from the Napa Valley area. She and her son have been staying with me for the past month. Her son is in one of the other Kindergarten classes. But she recently went through a...traumatic divorce of her own, and she already has connections with the local family crisis department at the police station."

* * *

 **A/N:** And the plot thickens! Sorry if it has been a while since I posted any story updates. I have been busier at work, and with life in general.


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